Living Among Leaves
by NarutoNerd
Summary: What begins as a simpple mission becomes a relationship, and then an adventure for all of Konoha. M for violence and lemons. NaruHina, SasuSaku.
1. Mission

A/N: K this is my first fanfic, so don't be harsh, but I'm always open for constructive criticism. I plan for lots of drama, action, comedy, some lemons, and an overall (hopefully) engaging storyline. This is sort of branching off from manga chapter 344 (I've read 345 and loved it, but I had this story written in my head last week just posting it now) This won't be apparent until a few chapters in I just felt like metioning it.

Disclaimer: I don't own rights to anything dealing with Naruto.

Summary: It's a complicated world out there filled with danger, love, sadness and happiness. Through each other, The Kohona ninja learn just what comes with experiencing all that is life. Naruto finds love, Sakura finds peace, Hinata finds her voice, and Sasuke finds his home? Plz R&R. M for violence and lemons. Pairs will be revealed Later, Though there is already a way to figure out the first pair, but I'm not telling you have to read to find out.

Key: "talking" '_thinking_' **'kyubi'** (funny little side stuff)

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Chapter 1: Mission 

The early morning sun rose slowly over the horizon, spreading thin rays of orange light through the leaves of the forest. The tranquility of the morning was enhanced by the relative silence that permeated the landscape, the only sounds being crickets, and a few other wild animals. The grandeur of the forest was marvelous, and then it was suddenly shattered by 50 loud poof noises followed by 51 loud "HAH"s. Naruto's morning training had begun.

The first part of his training was a physical and chakra warm up. He did this by creating 50 clones and having each of them pummel a nearby tree. Once he each felt they were fully awake, he canceled out the jutsu, tied several weights to his ankles and wrists, and began using body flicker to rush back ad forth across the training field, until he could not go the entire distance in one movement. This could go on for hours at a time, but when he finally tired out, he would take a break, and eat his special takeout ramen.

With his ramen devoured in a matter of minutes, it was time for the most crucial, and most boring in his opinion, part of training. He sat cross legged on the ground, and concentrated. He had been trying for some time now to learn how he could enter his mind and speak with he kyubi, even ask it for some power, when not in life threatening or enraged position. So far he failed, but Yamato had insisted that this was an important part of Naruto's growth, especially with the discovery that the seal on the demon was weakening. Naruto knew that he had to find a way back into that room, and after that, discover a method for controlling the demon inside of him.

Time passed, and Naruto deemed the meditation session a failure, just as always. The sun had risen considerably in this time, and he could already hear the sounds of activity drifting from the village. The people of kohona were rising to go through another day. In some ways Naruto envied them, their whole path lain out before them, no surprises, no challenges, no murderous missing Nin trying to steal your soul. But Naruto mostly pitied them, how many of them had the kind of excitement in their life he had? Besides, all the hardships were worth it, because eventually he would be hokage, it would all be worth it then. But first he had a promise to keep a promise with the woman he loved… Sakura…

"Naruto!" That gentle feminine voice rang out, shaking the ninja from his trance. He turned and saw the very woman he had been thinking of running towards him waving and calling out his name.

"Hey Sakura! What's going on?" He waved back, and then put his hands behind his back in his classic position.

"Naruto, We've got a mission!" Sakura said.

Hearing this cheered Naruto up immediately it meant two things, one: more of that excitement he loved about his life, two: It meant that Yamato and Sai had finally returned from wherever it was they had disappeared to two weeks ago. "That's great news! So what's the mission? And when did they get back?"

"When did who get…oh, no Yamato and Sai are still AWOL, even Tsunade-sensei says she hasn't a clue where they've gotten off to." There was a hint of worry in her voice as she finished saying this.

'_damn_' "wait, is it really safe for me to go on a mission without Yamato to… you know…" He placed a hand on his gut where the demon seal was located.

Sakura gave a quick glance down to his hand, and was visibly saddened for a moment but she snapped up wards and faked a smile to stop thinking about that. "She said it wouldn't be a tough mission, we're just to track down a recently escaped criminal ninja from Kumogakure as a sign of good faith to the lightning country. He's only chunin so we and our teammates should be able to take him no prob."

"Teammates? But I thought…"

"Tsunade-sensei said she was going to assign two additional chunin to our squad, to help us in tracking the criminal down and to replace Yamato and Sai." Sakura cut him off.

"Who's she assigning to our team?"

"Hinata Hyuga and Shino Aburame, and Shino is to act as temporary team leader. Any way we're leaving in 1 hour, so get packed and meet us by the north gate." With that they parted to head to their respective homes and prepare.

* * *

The three of them stood at the gate, practicing their time wasting routines. 

Sakura tapped her foot on the ground, planning on smacking him hard in the head when he finally showed up.

Hinata touched the tips of her fingers together, repeating over and over again _'don't faint, don't pass out, just say 'hi' casually'_.

Shino was patiently standing perfectly still, planning a two part action for the moment Naruto showed up, first he had to catch Hinata to prevent her getting a concussion when she collapsed, then he had to quickly shift and restrain Sakura so she couldn't give one to Naruto right before a mission. It wouldn't do good to start out with weakened teammates.

When Naruto finally showed up, loudly apologizing as he ran towards them, Shino was proven to be the one who had thought the situation out most clearly and was the only one among the three of them whose plan came to fruition.

As soon as they woke Hinata up the second time (making sure that unlike the first time Naruto was not the one holding her and shaking her), they were able to get moving toward where their reports told them the target would most likely be.

As they started jumping through the trees, Naruto spoke up, "so who exactly are we hunting down any way?"

Shino responded, "His name is Raikou Waiya, age 19, Ranked Chunin, they would not specify on his signiture jutsu, but as a cloud nin we can assume that he uses lightning and/or wind jutsu. They have a team following him, but since he's operating alone he could be traveling faster then them. Our job is to spread out in his projected path and attempt to cut him off, then either hold him until the cloud nin arrive to take im into custody, or if necesary kill him."

Naruto thought this over for a minute, then asked "so if we're supposed to spread out I guess will split up to cover more ground right? Alright then I'll partner with Sak-"

"No Naruto" Shino interupted. "It would defeat mine and Hinata's purpose if we were placed together with you and Sakura seperate. We are the tracking experts, we should be split up."

Naruto thought about this, _'well I guess it makes sense, but I wanted to get some alone time with Sakura-chan. Well, If I have to team up with either Shino or Hinata, which should I pick. Shino's so bossy, and creepy with all his bugs'_ With his mind made up Naruto voiced his choice "I'll Take Hinata then"

Hinata very nearly slipped on the branch she was on when she heard his, but righted herself, begining to chant her self control mantra in her mind once more _'stay calm, stay awake, you can do this Hinata, hes just going to be all alone with you in the depths of this forest...' _She very nearly slipped again, and restarted her mantra, cutting out that last part.

Sakura choose this time to put in her own thoughts, "If we seperate, how will we know if the other team engages the enemy?"

Shino had an answer already prepared, and beckoned for them to stop for a moment. "Everyone touch my hand." He held out his right hand, palm up, and the others all reached out and placed their hand on his. Three small bugs appeared on his skin and each climbed onto one of the others in the group. "If Hinata and Naruto meet the enemy, crush the bug, it will release a scent that my bugs will imeadiately pick up on and follow. If Sakura and I meet the opponent, your bugs will bight you and point in our direction, leading you back to us." he explained in his usuall monotone voice. "lets continue to move"

An hour or so later, they reached the point where they would split up and begin their search for the criminal, Naruto and Hinata heading westward, with Sakura and Shino taking a eastward path.

Approaching them at high spped was the criminal, completly confidant he would out run his pursuers and reach the wind country, where finding anyone was nearly impossible in the vast stretches of desert. He also knew of course that he was getting close to Konoha. It wouldn't do good to run into any Leaf ninja during his journey, he would need to make a wide circle around the village. He paused for a moment, and looked into the sky, where the sun was already begining to lower itself after it's noon height, angling slowly down into the west. _'The sun's a good a guide as any'_ he thought to himself, as he adjusted paths and began a more westward arc to move around the leaf village.

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A/N: This is a very innocent sort of setup chapter; this next one will not be so nice. Very soon this story will have earned it's M. I will update ASAP. 


	2. Mistakes

A/N: The Violence picks up in this one. There's a fight scene, and there is the briefest moment of sexual content. If you're reading I'd appreciate some reviews.

Disclaimer: Repeating for posterity, I still don't own Naruto.

Key: "Talking" _'Thinking'_ '**kyuubi/inner Sakura'** (funny little side stuff)

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Chapter 2: Mistakes 

Hinata and Naruto had setup watch outside a small clearing in the trees. Naruto was scouting out the area with shadow clones while Hinata kept her Byakugan active to search where ever he could not.

Narurto suddenly began fidgeting in their hiding place, and stood up. Hinata turned to face him, and he said "I gotta go to the bathroom. Be right back." With that he jumped down from the tree and disappeared from her normal viewing range. With her Byakugan she was able to follow his movements. When she saw him unzip his pants she blushed deeply and deactivated the jutsu.

This was almost the worst time she could have chosen to do this however, as moments after that, Raikou, the cloud ninja, began to approach her. He saw her, and reacting quickly, began to prepare hand seals.

* * *

Naruto finished his wiz, and with the pressure in his bladder released, he started to head back to Hinata. When he arrived at the hiding spot, he noticed something was missing. Hinata was no where to be seen. He quickly began searching for her, when caught a glimpse of something in the small clearing nearby. As he rushed over, he could tell the glimpse had been of Hinata, and that she was sitting with her back against a tree, not moving a muscle. When he reached her, he propped her more up right and started shaking her, yelling "Hinata! Hinata! Wake up!" 

"Hmph" Something had made a noise, and Naruto turned to see Raikou standing on a tree branch across the clearing from him. He rushed towards the enemy, who had turned and began running away. As they rushed through the trees, all Naruto wanted to do was bash his face in.

* * *

Back in the clearing, Hinata suddenly opened her eyes and stood up, then he cancelled the transformation and Raikou laughed a little to him self about how easy it had been. He walked around the tree he had been laying against and pulled out the real Hinata, who he had tied up with metal wires and gagged. 

"You and your friend sure surprised me, I thought I was making a wide enough circle that I could avoid patrols. I bet you kids weren't on patrol. I bet those idiots chasing me decided to ask for help. Well then since you two just had to get involved I'll have to punish you. Hehehehehehe." He grinned as he said this to her, her eyes wide with terror. He then placed his hands together and released some chakra. "There, now that clone your partner went blindly running after will disappear. If he half the idiot I hope he is, he'll come running back here just as blindly, and then the fun can begin."

* * *

Naruto had only been chasing the cloud ninja for a few minutes, when suddenly he came to a stop. Naruto braced himself for an attack, but all the enemy did was turn and disappear in a small cloud. The realization hit Naruto like a hammer. _'If I've been chasing a clone, then the real one must be… HINATA!!!'_ He turned around and began jumping at full speed back to the clearing. 

When he arrived in the clearing Hinata was standing in the center with her head bowed down. He paused, "Hinata is that really you?" he had to make sure it wasn't a transformation.

She raised her head slightly and reached out her arms to him, and in a very weak voice said "Naruto help me…" Right after she said this her body was suddenly lurched up wards and backwards at an odd angle, and she landed on her feet a yard or so back. Naruto could now see what looked like thin wires that tightly wrapped around every part of her body, so thin they could only be seen from their glinting in the sun. He tried to follow the path of the wires as they led away from Hinata, and they led his eyes straight to the cloud ninja, who was standing on a tree branch above her.

Raikou smiled at Naruto. "Hey there brat, we're gonna play a little game. There are only a few rules so listen up. ONE! The game ends when one of you two die. TWO! If you attempt to come between me and the girl, or try to cut any of the wires, I do this!" His chakra ran through the wires, changing into electricity as it went, and Hinata began to shake violently and grow ridged. When he stopped the current, she cried out and her breathing was erratic. "not a pretty picture, but it won't kill her unless I choose to up the voltage. And THREE! If you lose, which means that you die, I'll kill her, but if you win, by killing her, then you'll have a chance to fight me. BEGIN!" Hinata's body lurched violently again and she was thrown towards Naruto her arm forced to stretch out and her fingers pulled into a fist. Naruto stood paralyzed, and braced himself to take the hit.

The hit never came, he saw that Hinata had pulled her arm back, fighting against the wires. As soon as this was apparent though, the wires began to glow with chakra, and Hinata was visibly in pain. Raikou laughed, and spoke out "I forgot to mention rule four, if the girl tries to resist, I will electrocute her until she submits again."

Naruto was shocked, but he couldn't just do nothing. "Hinata don't fight him I can dodge the attacks I'll think of something." Hinata nodded through her pain, and the electricity stopped flowing. Her body lunged again, and was forced to punch and kick at Naruto. Even without her resistance the attacks were slow, Naruto could easily dodge each one. _'What can I do? I've got to try and cut the wires, but I have to do it all at once, or else he'll hurt Hinata.'_ Naruto pulled out a Kunai, and moved towards Hinata as she punched at him again. Right as the hit was about to connect, he spun around her and his kunai connected with the first string. The wire bent, but would not break.

Raikou saw the attack, and began torturing Hinata again. "What do you say kid, can you follow the rules from now on? If I want to I can make her fight at the same time as I electrocute her, makes no difference to me." His smile was growing wider. "As punishment for breaking the rules, you must punch the girl, do that and I'll stop the flow of electricity. You must punch her and mean it, if you half ass it or just tap her, I won't let up."

Naruto, looked down at his clenched fist, then turned to Hinata. "Forgive me" he chocked out, fainter then a whisper. He moved forward and landed a solid punch into Hinata's gut. She gasped out for air, and the electrocution stopped. A moment later she was being forced into attacking Naruto again. Naruto continued to dodge the attacks, but took more notice of his hand, there was blood on it, an for the first time, he noticed the wound in Hinata's gut. It had been hidden by her jacket, but his punch had caused the blood to seep through the clothing and onto his hand.

Anger welled up in Naruto as he stared at the cloud ninja, his enjoyment of the pain he was causing infuriating Naruto to no end. **'what are _you_ going to do about it?'** He pushed those thoughts away, demon chakra would only lead to more injuries for Hinata, but he had to end this. As he dodged another attack his back hit a tree at the end of the clearing. _'THAT'S IT!!!'_ He formed the simple seal that was needed and called out "Shadow clone jutsu!" An additional Naruto appeared next to him as he held out his hand. The clone began to spiral chakra in the hand of the original until he held a small blue sphere of spinning chakra. The clone disappeared, and Naruto held the sphere forward. "I'm so sorry, Hinata" And he charged her.

Raikou grinned his widest yet, knowing that a concentrated source of chakra like that could easily kill the girl. It was always so pleasing to force people to kill their best friends like this. He had his plan in place, as sson as the sphere connected with her, he would break the wires and send out knew ones to grab the brat, then enjoy killing him with an electric current. It was all prepared, when suddenly the brat appeared behind him and landed a solid punch into his face, thrusting him into the clearing. The brat in the clearing ran straight around the girl, and shoved the sphere of chakra into Raikou's chest, yelling "RASENGAN!!!" Raikou was thrown in a sickening spinning motion until he slammed into a tree. As he slumped down on the floor, he found voice enough in his battered body to ask, "How?"

Naruto looked down at him with a serious look on his face and said "When I dispersed that clone that helped form the Rasengan, his experiences were passed on to all the other clones I had already created to search for you earlier. Once they were aware of what was going on, they rushed here to help." The other Naruto chimed in "I was just the closest." and then promptly disappeared. Naruto turned to Hinata, who had collapsed on the ground without the wires holding her up.

He rushed over to her and lifter her shirt up so he could see her gut. The wound had been made with a kunai knife, and was bleeding heavily. Naruto reached into his supplies and pulled out some bandages. As he did, he noticed the small bug climbing over his hand. With a sting of regret he reached out and squished the bug, which would signal Shino and Sakura to come to is aid. When Sakura arrived she would be able to close this wound with her medical jutsu, but for now Naruto needed to stop the bleeding so she would last that long.

He held her up and tightly wrapped the bandages around her body. When he was finished, he was about to lower her shirt, when he noticed that there was still blood flowing on her, from somewhere higher on her body. Thoughts abandoned he pulled her shirt completely off over head. With a mixture of shock, horror, and embarrassment, Naruto gazed at her. She had been stabbed a second time in her chest, near the center but slightly to the right, and in such a way that the kunai had in fact cut through her bra so that when Naruto had remover her shirt, the bra fell off as well. He started by blushing, but the color drained from his face as he realized that she might have been stabbed through to her lung or heart. He pulled out his Bandages again and began frantically wrapping them around her to try stopping the blood.

* * *

Hianata regained some semblance of consciousness and opened her eyes. They hurt. She tried to move her arm but it too hurt, so she left it where it lay. Despite the pain, she turned her head so she could see around her. She was in the clearing, leaning against a tree in the shade. She turned a little farther, and could see Naruto with his back to her, his head planted firmly against a tree. He was griping something in his hand, something small and black. But before the image could become clearer she faded off into dark unconsciousness again. 


	3. Deep Thoughts

A/N: I've been updating pretty rapidly here, but this won't last longer then the weekend. I've got most of the story written in my head up to about chapter 12, so those chapters will take a lot less time to write up. I'll keep writing and thinking up new chapters as I can.

Review replies: First off I would like to thank those of you have read the story, cuz that's why I'm writing it. Second I would like to thank those of you who have Reviewed, especially Dragon, who pointed out some holes in the story in my head, one which I even managed to patch up in this very chapter.

Disclaimer: same as last time.

Key: also same as last time.

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Chapter 3: Deep Thoughts 

Hinata opened her eyes again, this time to a much different surrounding. She was laying flat on her back, and all she could see as she looked up was white. _'OH NO!!!' _She screamed in her said and sat up abruptly. She immediately regretted this for two reasons. First, it was fairly obvious that she was not dead, she was in a hospital room with a white ceiling. The second reason she regretted it was because her torso was suddenly filled in agonizing and sharp pain. She flopped backwards onto to the bed again and the pain receded, but only slightly. In all her excitement and confusion she had failed to notice Naruto sitting by her bed. But he had noticed her.

"HINATA ARE YOU OK!?!?" He blurted out, lunging forward to lean over her.

She stared up at him, and blushed deeply. Through her nervousness and pain she was able to ask, "N-n-n-naruto, what h-happened?"

He stared back down at her for a moment, a frown and sad look appearing in his face. "I left you, and you got hurt because of it. I'm so sorry Hinata."

She just stared at him for a moment, and then asked "what?"

Naruto sat back down in his chair, causing Hinata to turn her head to the side slightly. "Somehow that cloud ninja guy snuck up on you while I was, well, using the little boys room, anyway. He tricked me into following a clone of him and when I realized what was going on I rushed back. He, took control of your body and made me fight you." Naruto griped his right hand, the hand he had used to punch Hinata in the gut. "I was able to beat him but, I found out you were already injured he had stabbed you twice with kunai, I tried to bandage you up. When Sakura arrived she used almost all of her chakra to stabilize your condition, but you were still hurt and unconscious when she couldn't go on, so we brought you here. Shino stayed behind to turn over Raikou to the pursuing Cloud ninja. It turns out they took so long to find him that Raikou died." He hesitated as he said the last part. Naruto never liked killing people, but it was always worth it to protect a friend.

She had known most of the story of course, having been there. She noticed that Naruto hadn't mentioned when he punched her, that was the last thing she remembered before blacking out. _'If he thinks I didn't see that its for the best, I wouldn't want to be a burden on his conscious.'_ The silence was beginning to bother her so she spoke up "How long was I out?"

Naruto woke up and answered her "A whole day, everyone was really worried see they all left you a card." He pointed to the stand on the other side of the bed, so she turned her head.

She could see cards from everyone in her usual squad, as well as from Sakura. "When did they come by?"

"A few hours ago" he answered.

Something occurred to Hinata, "Naruto, have you been here the whole time?"

Naruto looked down at her again. "Yeah, well since the hospital opened this morning anyway, they wouldn't let me sleep in the room."

Hinata's heart thudded in her chest as she looked at Naruto, and she was about to ask him why he stayed when someone else walked into the room and cut her off.

"There's a reason people aren't allowed to stay overnight in the rooms of patients Naruto, or did Ero-sennin never tell you that would be a good way to get away with it?" It was Sakura, and she entered in her nurse's uniform with a clipboard in her hand.

Naruto grinned widely when she arrived (this panged Hinata, that she could only worry him but Sakura brought him joy) and said "you're the one who came up with that idea Sakura-chan, and you've got all those men to care for-OW!" He gripped his head where Sakura had bashed him.

She turned to Hinata and asked "Is this baka bothering you Hinata? We can have him banned from the premise if you like. Anyway I'm here to finish treating you, a long nights rest and I've restored my chakra so I can get back to work." With that she placed her hand on Hinata's head to check for any ill reaction to the drugs they had been giving her. Then she clapped her hands together and they were surrounded by a faint green aura.

Sakura placed her hands over Hinata's body. Hinata could feel a soothing warmth go through her, followed by a strange tugging sensations around her belly and chest. It hurt a bit, but after a few minutes the pain receded and she felt the soothing warmth fade away. Sakura motioned for her to sit up, so she slowly lifted her head off the pillow. The pain had disappeared, and Hinata could hardly tell she had been injured at all.

Naruto beamed at Hinata sitting there. "That's great! Let's get ramen to celebrate!!"

Sakura turned to him, also similing. "Sorry Naruto but Hinata can't leave just yet. There are still some tests to run to make sure there wasn't any damage we missed. She can't be released until tomorrow."

"oh, I see" He smiled again and said "Well I'll go eat enough Ramen to celebrate for both of us ok Hinata!" Then he turned to Sakura and said "Wanna come Sakura-chan?"

Sakura looked over at the grinning ninja, fighting a blush **'SAY YES ALREADY DAMNIT!!!!' **"Um yeah sure I could use some food. Hinata, if you press that button a nurse will be in here in an instant. Oh, and if you want to change out of those nasty hospital clothes here's your stuff." She handed over Hinata's belongings.

Hinata looked through her things. She couldn't find her bra or her black shirt. "Sakura, where is my, uuhhhh bra and shirt?"

Sakura turned around to face her from the door. "What bra and shirt, all you had on when I found you in the woods… with… Naruto…"

"OH shoot I just remembered something Sakura-chan I can't go eat ramen right now bye!!" He rushed out of the room and disappeared down the hall.

Sakura just stared after him '_Naruto wouldn't no way'_ **'Yeah he could, he trained with that pervert for more then 2 years' **'_but this is Naruto, what would he want with Hinata's…'_ **'He doesn't care whose it is, he's a guy! This is the kind of stuff they do.' **_'But it was Hinata's…'_ **'Would you have preferred he stole your… OH! GO SAKURA, GO SAKURA, GO SAKURA'** Sakura pushed out the voice in her head, resisting the temptation to confirm her inner self's question.

Hinata had looked on the whole situation with a strange mixture of shame, anger, and jealousy.

* * *

Naruto's apartment had become a fort. The windows were shut and locked with drape drawn across them. The front door was locked and had a chair lodged into it. Naruto himself was barricaded in the rather cramped closet, using a small flash light for illumination. 

'_I shouldn't have kept them. But I couldn't let Sakura know I had taken them off of her! She would have thought I was a pervert. And look at the bra its been torn in half. She would have thought I did that! And who knows what Hinata would have thought about all this. Especially me having seen Hinata's… UH OH!'_

It wasn't Naruto's first erection. But he was really shy about dealing with them, even in his own home. '_What was It Jariya told me to about this kind of thing? Lemme think back now, option one was…sex… well that's not happening. Option two was…jerking…oh god not after last time. _(last time refers to when he tried to take the hermits advice only to have him barge in half drunk and start applauding and encouraging him, a truly traumatizing experience) _The third option, what was it, the boring method he called it, THAT'S RIGHT, just try to think of something that isn't sexual. Right I can do that. Lets see…Grass…flowers…flower shop…Ino…ARGH NOT WORKING. TRY AGAIN. Battles…fighting…injuries…the hospital…Sakura…IT'S REALLY NOT WORKING. LAST TRY ALL OR NOTHING! The sky…clouds…stars…the moon…eyes…Hinata…ARGH AGAIN!!! Wait."_

Naruto paused his chaotic mind, and traced back, realizing tha it was thinking of Hinata that had started this all to begin with. Thinking of Hinata like… that. What was wrong with him? He was in love with Sakura wasn't he? Wasn't he? Something some where deep in his head woke up, _'why should I love Sakura? Only cuz shes the prettiest kunoichi I've ever seen, cuz she's nice and caring and just a wonderful person. When has she ever been any of those things to me? Havn't I gotten Bonked on the head enough? WHAT AM I THINKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'_

It took a minute of furiously scratching his head before he remembered what was in his hand. Hinata's shirt and bra. _'I'm…I'm…I'm attracted to…Hinata.'_

Naruto stood up and threw open the closet door. He walked to the window and threw that open too. It was night time. He would go see her anyway.

* * *

A/N: Another set-up chapter, the next chapter will have a lemon section so be warned or get ready which ever is your preference. 


	4. Embrace

A/N: Well here it is, the moment you've been dreading/waiting for. The lemon. It's clearly marked and goes up to the end of the chapter so if you want to skip the juicy (pun) details you're welcome to. Also if anyone feels a need to review flame me for putting this in go ahead. It won't bother me one bit.

Key: same as always.

Disclaimer: You're not going to believe this! I bought the rights to Naruto!!! NOT!!!! (Borat was funny)

* * *

Chapter 4: Embrace

Hinata hadn't been able to sleep all day, despite being in a bed for all that time. She chose this time to look at the window and into the bright moon that was shining through it. But her view was obstructed. There was a person standing in the window, his face was concealed by shadows because of the strong back lighting. At first she was scared, but his mouth moved, and she heard his voice and was relieved at once. He said "Hinata, I know it's late and all, but I really wanted to talk to you."

Naruto's voice was a soothing song to her, and she nodded her head slightly. He put his feet down in the room and sat in the same chair he had been in earlier. He didn't say anything for a while. "N-naruto what is it?" She was worried, this was so unlike him.

He jolted upright in the chair and thrust his arm out to her. She looked at hi hand, and could see something in it, so she reached up and took it from him. As soon as it was liberated from him he pulled his arm back and gripped his hands together. She looked at what she had taken. It was her shirt and bra.

In a moment of shock she dropped the items onto the bed and stared at Naruto, covering her chest with her arms and sheets. She was already wearing her jacket, but her instincts had taken over for a minute.

Naruto took her reaction as a sign, so he bowed his head and said "I'm s-sorry Hinata. I-I-I Just, ummmmmm, well you see I, ummmmm, I had to to to to, uhhhhhhhhhh…"

She stared at him. _'Naruto, Nervous? Naruto was never nervous, except maybe around Sakura sometimes, but that was because he was in love with her…maybe?!?!'_ The possibility floated into her mind, but she rejected it as impossible. Hopes and dreams like those surfaced in her mind every time she was around Naruto, and frequently even when he wasn't. The two and a half years that Naruto had been gone had been both wonderful and horrible. Wonderful, because for two and a half years she had never fainted once, never blushed uncontrollably or been forced into silence by her own stuttering. Horrible because she felt a horrible emptiness. Naruto was gone, vanished away by the legendary Jiraya. And though her face hid it well, her heart ached. Whenever she was alone she would think of him, wonder where he was and what he was doing. She could remember even crying once, on his birthday the first year he was gone. But she never showed it. Now he was here, and all her obsession could do was silence her and distract her when her life was in danger. _'I'm so pathetic'_

Naruto looked up to Hinata and could see her beginning to hunch and hang her head. Without even thinking about it he reached out his hand and touched her shoulder and asked her "What's wrong Hinata?"

She reacted quickly, her head shooting up and her eyes bulging. This was the first time Naruto had ever touched in a purely sentimental way. Previously he had held her up when she fainted, or patted her on the back when she accomplished something. But never to console her. She couldn't respond.

Naruto stared at her eyes for long moments, then realized with a sinking feeling that Hinata obviously didn't want him to touch her, so he withdrew his hand, and hung his own head, staring into his lap.

If such a thing were possible, it hurt, it hurt as if a limb were being amputated to have Naruto pull back his hand. She could feel the place on her arm which now lacked that contact, and was more aware of that old sinking feeling of rejection then ever before. She had to break this silence, to reach out and touch him even if it was just with words. "Naruto…" That was all she could think to say.

Naruto had also been trying to break the silence, and was greatly relieved when Hinata had started to say something. His relief vanished as he realized that was all she could think to say and they were about to drop back into silence. He wasn't about to let that happen so he decided to say something. "Y-yes Hinata?" _'Stupid should have said something better then that!'_

Hinata just stared for a minute. Then somehow, somewhere deep in the recesses of her mind a synapse fired. "Was I hideous to you Naruto?" _'WHAT DID I SAY?!?!?!?!'_

Naruto just stared at her, she was still clutching her hands to her chest. _'could she mean that? What do I say?' _"Hinata you're… you're… you're… gorgeous…"

'_I heard wrong that's it, he can't possibly think that about me. But then why is he staring at me like that?'_ Their eyes were fixed on each others. Naruto seemed to be getting closer. Hinata reasoned that that too was just her imagination. In fact she reasoned that this may be a dream right now. Why else would Naruto have magically appeared in her window. But he kept getting closer and closer. She felt him exhale. Her voice squeaked out, "Naruto" he was getting too close. He was going to… to…to… Hinata lunged backwards and fell onto her back on the bed.

Naruto Froze when he saw Hinata go flying away from him. He just stared, wondering what he had just been doing. _'Was I really going to kiss her? Hinata? It doesn't matter now, look at her reaction to me. So why can't I move?' _He just stood and stared down at her.

Hinata too was frozen staring up at Naruto. 'W_hy did I dodge? What was he going to do? What was he thinking? What is he thinking? What should I do? I should say something, ask him something.' _"Naruto what were you…?"

Naruto was fed up with all of this. The silence, the nervousness. He made a decision. _'Just come out with it' _"I want to kiss you Hinata." He said it plainly, and was greatly relieved after he had. Then he was incredibly terrified after that. Hinata was still staring up at him and her expression had just gone from shock to absolute horror. _'So that's it then, she hates me. More of the same then.' _"I guess I should leave." He turned and began to proceed towards the window at a very slow pace.

'_Why am I so afraid? I want this don't I? It's what I've always wanted isn't it? So why am I so terrified of it? He's leaving, what can I do?"_ Hinata saw his hand touch the side of the window. She couldn't wait any longer. She reached out and grabbed Naruto's arm, holding him in place. "Don't leave me…" She couldn't breathe, her voice had to fight its way through her clenched larynx. Naruto turned and stared back down at her. Then he leaned in again. This time Hinata resisted every instinct to push away, she held her ground until their faces connected.

Being the first intimate moment of Hinata's life, and being the first intentional kiss on Naruto's part, neither of them were at all skillful at it, nor did either have any real idea what kissing someone skillful would feel like. So they just lightly pressed their lips into one another's and enjoyed the contact. When they separated it was only for a second and this time they each tilted their heads slightly allowing their lips to press even more powerfully into each other's. The second time the split was when Naruto pushed Hinata back down onto the bed, and practically dived on top of her to connect with her again. This time they used their hands, Hinata gripping a knot of Naruto's hair to hold his head to hers, and Naruto pulling on her back, pressing her into him. Hinata felt something else pressing against her mouth then, and realized it was Naruto's tongue, so she opened her mouth slightly and let him in. They kissed and were content.

And then Naruto's hand moved under her jacket. Once more she found herself frozen and horrified. Naruto could feel h tense up, so he backed away and looked at her from arms distance. She just stared at him with those big white eyes. Naruto bturned around, and sat on the edge of the bed. He then fumbled around in a pocket for something, and pulled out a small plastic package.

Hinata stared at it. A moment later she realized what it was, and what it meant Naruto was thinking. He had turned around and was facing her with a look that was something between pleading and concern. _'I've always wanted him, but do I want this, now? ………Yes…' _"yes, Naruto."

He smiled a small smile. "Hinata…" and he embraced her.

* * *

(THE LEMON HAS HEREBY BEGUN)

* * *

Naruto held her tight to him for a moment, and then leaned in to kiss the exposed part of her shoulder. He moved himself slightly to be kissing her neck, and then brought up a hand to pull on the zipper of her jacket. As the zipper went down and the jacket split, Naruto followed, kissing down her chest and to her belly. Hinata pulled the Jacket down her arms and it slid off onto the bed. Naruto sat up again to kiss her lips, and Hinata's arms wrapped around him again. Naruto pulled away and reached up to his own jacket's zipper, which he slowly pulled downward. Once it was off, Hinata, still shy about this all, felt she should do something, so she reached out to Narutos waist, grabbing the bottom of his black t-shirt, and pulling it up and over his head. Naruto was happily surprised at her enthusiasm and once his shirt was off he leaned forward and pushed her down onto the bed kissing as they went.

With Naruto on top, Hinata could not move save her arms, so she reached around Naruto and felt every part of his back she could find, simultaneously pulling him harder into her own body. She felt him rub against her leg, and had another momentary panic attack, but it was overcome by a second emotion. She reached down and unzipped Naruto's pants. He smiled into their kiss, and started kicking off his pants. Once thy were off he decided to do the same o Hinata, so undid her pants and pushed them down with his hand, inadvertently taking her panties with them. Hinata helped him get the items all the way off, then she realized with a chill that she was completely exposed. She pushed up on Naruto's chest and rolled slightly, until they were laying side by side in the hospital bed.

Naruto nodded, and reached down to find the sheets and pull them up over Hinata. He then found the condom he had previously dropped, and reached under the sheet to take off his boxers and put the rubber on. With the preparations complete he turned to Hinata. She was staring straight up and breathing in short gasps. Naruto rolled onto his side and stroked a hand across her cheek. She turned to face him, with those wide pale eyes expressing something he didn't really understand. "Hinata… are you… sure?"

'_Am I? It is Naruto. But am I ready? If I were to say no right now, he would get up and leave. I don't want that. I want…' _"yes…" Naruto heard her response, nodded, and climbed on top of her once more. "Hinata…"

She stared up at his eyes, and could feel it between her thighs, and then it touched her entrance. Then he pushed in slightly, then farther. It was an odd feeling at first, like being filled up. And then there was pain. It stung out like a dagger in her. She bit her lip, trying to block it out, and a tear fell down her cheek from her clenched eyes.

Naruto Was still staring down at her pale face, when he felt something release in her body, and then he could see the tell tale signs..._'I'm Hurting her' _Naruto paniced and started to pull away from her, but was stopped when her arm caught him, followed by her legs wrapping them selves around his waist. He looked back down at her and saw what he knew was longing. _'don't leave me'_ Her face screamed at him. He obliged, pushing himself into her once again.

It didn't hurt as much this time. The pain was fading. There was now just this feeling of pressure inside her. He moved again, pulling apart and then pressing them together again. The pain receded farther, and the feeling of pressure was being replaced by something else. She felt the need to assist him. When he pulled away this time, she timed with him to thrust her hips upward as he pushed down. The feeling was amazing.

Naruto felt her pelvic movement. He could feel her breath from their faces so close. He could feel every motion. But he was most aware of the growing sensation in his manhood. He knew the condom was reducing the sensation, but he was still a virgin, and these new feelings were driving him wild. Their bodies rubbing together, the sweat building, Hinata's fingers digging into his back, and the pain had disappeared from her face, replaced with a look of the same pleasure he was drawing from this experience.

His body was picking up pace, thrusting faster and harder into Hinata's body. The pain had completely disappeared now, and every thrust had become a spike of pleasure to her body. She was greatful for the increase in speed, and picked up her own pace as well, pulling harder on Naruto's back and thrusting harder with her own hips. She could also feel something growing in her body, whatever it was it was going to burst soon, so she braced her self for the explosion she could feel coming.

Naruto continued to push harder into Hinata's body, his own stressing to hold out his release as long as possible. Suddenly that was no longer an option. Hinata suddenly lurched beneath him, pulling him down onto her with such force that Naruto couldn't move. Even her insides clamped down on him, the warmth and pressure caused him to lose control, filling the condom to the brim with his seed.

Hinata held her lover tightly to her for an eternity, or a minute, she couldn't tell right now. The she relented, and rested her weary and sweat coated arms o the bed. Naruto rolled off of her, pulling out as he went. But Hinata still felt that full sensation. She turned to him, and saw him staring up at the ceiling. He reached down and pulled off his condom, throwing it into the trashcan beside the bed. He then turned to face Hinata. He shifted himself, and moved close enough for one last kiss before she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A/N: My first lemon. I don't think I did real well, but then neither were they, first time and all. Any way the next chapter is more about drama then anything, a bit of a touching moment between master and apprentice. 


	5. Father Figure

A/N: I'm running out of stuff to say. Uhhh thanks for being fans and keep reading.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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Chapter 5: Father Figure

Hinata woke up in the hospital. She was a little sore, but had a strange fluttery feeling in her abdomen and spine. She felt around the bed for Naruto, but couldn't find him. With a start she realized she was alone and completely dressed. There were no signs that anything had happened last night. _'Was it all a dream?'_ She buried herself in her thoughts as Sakura walked into the room and greeted her.

Sakura started asking her questions about how she felt, and Hinata answered honestly enough, but was very distracted by something. Sakura got worried and asked her "Hinata is there something on your mind?"

Hinata snapped out of her daze and responded "N-no Sakura, I just had an odd dream."

Sakura didn't buy it, but didn't feel it was her place to delve into it. "Well you're cleared to leave, would you like a bag or something for all your cards? Hmmm, you didn't open this one." Sakura held up an envelope that was sealed. It was marked from Kiba. _'I could've sworn I saw one from Kiba on here yesterday…'_

Hinata looked up at the envelope. It was the one Kiba had given her, and she had opened it. Furthermore Hinata knew that Kiba never licked his envelopes closed, he hated the taste of the glue. She reached up and took it from Sakura and looked it over. _'How odd…'_ A hope spiked inside Hinata, _'Could this explain what happened last night?'_ "So I'm free to go right?" She tried not to sound urgent.

Sakura thought she was being rushed a bit, but signed the papers and handed them to Hinata to do the same. As soon as that was done Hinata got up and started for the door. "Are you sure you're ok Hinata?" Hinata turned around and gave a quick nod and bow, then quickly left the room. Sakura could swear something was amiss, that something had changed overnight. _'What looked different, and why did she only take the card from Kiba?'_

Hinata almost ran out of the hospital, ecstatic because she just realized she was not only redressed in her jacket, but also in her shirt and bra. (The latter of the two was very uncomfortable and felt like it was falling off beneath her clothing.) As soon as she was a few blocks from the Hospital, she ripped open the envelope and pulled out Kiba's card.

Kiba always wrote something quick and small on his cards, or anything at all for that matter. But the card was now covered in big blocky sloppy writing that went all around the outer cover. This is what it said:

**HINATA PLEASE READ. THIS FROM NARUTO!!!!**

**I had great time, want to see you again, third training ground, 3 pm, please come.**

**NARUTO**

In fact it said quite a lot more then that, but so much had been crossed out and rewritten it was hardly legible. Hinata read the coherent parts over three times, and then fainted on the bench she was sitting on.

* * *

Naruto was tired and sore, but it was still one of the greatest nights he could remember. Of course after Hinata fell asleep he realized they were going to get busted and a huge scene would be made. He had worked frantically all night, redressing the exhausted Hinata, changing the blood stained bed sheets (he had been worried about the blood but couldn't find a wound on her so he just changed them.) and writing that note to her, hoping she would notice it and get it. He had even taken the condom from the trashcan and brought it back to his own house and his own trashcan. He didn't want that kind of evidence appearing.

Now was the bad part though. That was the only condom he had. It had been a "gift" from Jiraiya during his training. Of course Naruto had been repulsed by it, but stuck it in his pocket to shut the old pervert up. Now Naruto was faced with a problem. He was far too friendly with the local store owner to go in and buy some without a stream of rumors flying all over town, but he knew he needed them to continue this kind of relationship with Hinata.

And that was a big shock on his part. He had always liked Hinata, but he had never _liked_ Hinata. And yet given the slightest opportunity he had jumped and lost his virginity while taking someone else's. Up till yesterday every one of his adolescent fantasies had always been of Sakura. Now he couldn't even remember what he had imagined she looked like nude. Every image in his mind was Hinata.

Got to get to business though, how do I get more rubbers? The answer struck him as he heard some screaming from nearby. He ran to the source and saw none other then Ero-sennin running from a hoard of angry women clothed only in towels. _'What perfect timing. I'll just follow Ero-sennin until he leads me to his temporary camp, and steal the condoms from him when his guard is down.'_ Naruto smiled at the simplicity of his ingenious plan.

He followed Ero-sennin quietly and covertly, and sure enough, he was led straight back to the little tent that served as Ero-sennin's mobile home and headquarters. After a few minutes, during which Jiraiya consulted maps, he said "yes this water fall should attract some ladies." And he walked off and out of sight.

Naruto wasn't going to waste the opportunity, he jumped down and ran into the tent, remembering exactly where Ero-sennin had gotten the condom from last time. Sure enough, that pocket of his backpack was loaded with the plastic packages. _'Either he buys too many or never uses them' _thought Naruto, as he pulled out a hand full of the rubbers and shoved them in his pocket. As Naruto turned to leave his progress was halted by two things, shock and guilt.

Jiraiya had come back to the tent because he had forgotten his map to the waterfall. It surprised him first to see Naruto in his tent, it surprised him again when his "good date pouch" was open and had a significant gap in it. He turned his gaze back down to Naruto and could see his pockets bulging, on of the packages sticking out slightly into view. He pushed Naruto back into the tent and sat down in front of his young apprentice. "So taking after me after all I see." Jiraiya couldn't help but grin.

Naruto was mortified, but he had to respond, "It's not like that Ero-sennin…" Jiraiya cut him off.

"That's Jiraiya-sensei. Who did you get with any way? Finally got that Sakura girl to…" Naruto cut him off.

"NO, not Sakura it was… I'm not telling you now let me go." He was very angry with the perverted sage right now, and would rather put this whole exchange behind him.

Jiraiya was relentless though, "Oh come on Naruto you can tell me, just between us guys. You have a right to brag about your first score."

Naruto wouldn't take it any more. "SHE WASN'T SOME SCORE!!!"

Jiraiya stared at Naruto, and after a moment he realized what was going on. _'I see, then perhaps I should, yes that would be best.'_ "Naruto, follow me, and say nothing." His voice was serious. So serious in fact that Naruto was speechless at having heard it. Jiraiya started to leave, and tucking his new possessions into his pockets, Naruto followed.

* * *

Naruto was worried. He had been following Naruto for at least an hour now. Jiraiya walked with a slow pace through the village, and never motioned or spoke to Naruto once after they left the tent.

Eventually they reached the base of the Hokage monument, and Jiraiya began the climb up the steps. Naruto continued to follow, tempted to say something but held in silence by the heavy feeling he was getting from the hermit. When they finally reached the top it was well past noon, and Jiraya stopped once they stood on the cliff right above the head of the Yondaime Hokage.

"Naruto…Do you know where we are right now?" Jiraiya's voice was still very serious.

"ummmm, were on the monument, over the fourth's head." Naruto was a little nervous. He didn't like to see Ero-Sennin getting all serious like this.

"Yes, he was my student you know. And then he grew to become Kohona's Yellow Flash, the genius Fourth Hokage. The man who defeated the 9 tailed demon fox." When Jiraiya said the last part Naruto visibly stiffened and instinctively grabbed his stomach. Jiraiya had turned and could see this reaction, so he continued, "You don't know why he chose to seal the fox in you, do you? It's something that no one ever mentioned. The jutsu he used to seal the beast was one that required him to give up his life, and he knew that he would be honored as a hero for his sacrifice. What he told no one about his plan was that the Jutsu would require him to seal the demon into another subject. He chose you, for your parents had both been killed in the attack. It was his hope that you would be honored as a hero as well, for being the container of a great evil."

Jiraiya walked forward and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, and Naruto looked up at his sensei. Jiraiya continued, "Needless to say, his wishes were not taken to heart, he was enshrined on this mountain, and you were turned into a social pariah. I'm so sorry Naruto. This village should never have done this to you, and yet despite their torturous treatment of you, you have become a fine young man. Now let me say this, from your actions earlier I can tell this woman means something to you." Naruto was speechless he had never seen this side of Ero-Sennin before. "When I was younger I knew a woman like that too. But I never told her it, and well, you know me. My habits didn't exactly inspire confidence in her that I would be worth anything in a relationship. She moved on, and I became the man you see here before you now. I can say this much, I regret not telling her how I felt, I regret it every day. So you my young apprentice, don't be flaky, and don't think you implied it somehow with your actions. Come right out and tell her how you feel."

Jiraiya walked a little ways away from Naruto, and began staring out over Kohonagakure. Naruto stared don at his own feet, and finally decided to say something. "Arigatou, Jiraiya-sensei."

Jiraiya was truly touched, and then he got great idea. He turned around and walked over to Naruto. He then deftly reached a hand down Naruto's back and gripped the waist of his pants. Before Naruto could react, he gripped the collar of Naruto's jacket from behind as well, and lifting him off his feet, carried Naruto over to the edge of the monument. "Don't be getting soft on me now Naruto, you've still got battles ahead. It's time for another test in reaction! What do you do if you're being hurled off a hundred foot tall monument?" As he said this, he did just what he said.

As Naruto careened off the cliff he shouted out "DAMN YOU ERO-SENNIN!!!!!" But all Jiraiya could do was laugh.

Once Naruto was gone and down the mountain, Jiraiya turned to face his guests. "Tsunade has briefed me, and while I understand the wisdom in this, I also see the problems in it. You know he hates being kept out of the loop."

Of the three of them it was the one on the far left that answered, "It's for his own good, and it can't wait any longer. Not with all the recent developments. Besides, he'll hardly notice we're gone, he's got so much else occupying his mind."

Jiraiya nodded at this. "Alright then, lets go." They stood there, and then all four of them were gone.

* * *

A/N: Mystery and intrigue abounds!!! Lol. The next chapter we'll see some of the ramifications of Naruto's new relationship, and whether or not he takes his sensei's advice. 


	6. Exposure

A/N: Thanks again to everyone who's reading, special thanks to Dragon for reviewing every chapter. Anyway I'm sick today so I've decided to write up another chapter. It doesn't really go as far as "lemon" but there is some sexual content.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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Chapter 6: Exposure 

Sakura couldn't explain it, she had even consulted with her inner self and she couldn't explain it. For some reason she had feeling in her gut tat something was going on, but couldn't identify what it was. First, there was Hinata's strange behavior at the hospital this morning. Then, she saw Naruto and Jiraiya walking through town with very grave looks on their faces. That in and of itself was odd, but more so was that Naruto walked right by Sakura and didn't so much as say "hi".

Sakura finished her chores that Tsunade had given her, and finished her shift at the hospital, so she was off for the rest of the day. It almost 3:00, and she hadn't eaten all day, so she decided to get some Lunch. She also decided to invite Naruto to join her. When she got to his house however, he wasn't there. She understood that she was worried, though she didn't know why. She headed off to Ichiraku's not out of any particular craving for ramen, but in hoping that Naruto would be there when she got there.

He wasn't. She ordered her food, and then she asked "Hello, Teuchi, Ayame. Have either of you seen Naruto today?" The question just slipped out.

The old man looked down at Sakura, and smiled. He had known Naruto for years, and was one of the few people he knew who didn't harbor some resentment towards the boy due to the demon. He never mentioned it, and just tried to be friendly with the young spastic, besides, turning away a costumer like Naruto would just be bad business. It warmed his heart to know that there were other people who were caring for him these days. He snapped himself awake to answer her "uh no. Odd though, I thought he was going to see you."

This caught Sakura's attention, "why would you think that?"

The old man was preparing some noodles with his back to Sakura, but he responded anyway. "Well he came by for breakfast as usual, but he ordered only one bowl, not his usual four. And he ate much quicker then normal, when he was done I asked him what the rush was, but all he would say was 'I've got to get ready for her'. I jut assumed 'her' meant you. Here's your food." He placed a bowl in front of her.

Sakura stared down for a moment, trying to make sense of her thoughts. An image of Hinata flashed into her mind. **'No way'** Sakura stood up, and walked away from the stand, leaving half of her food behind. _'I gotta find Naruto…'_

_

* * *

_

A passing stranger shook and woke up Hinata as she lay on the bench, and soon as she had thanked him, she dashed off to the third training ground. It wasn't even noon yet when she got there, but she just had to be there no matter what.

Hours passed, she didn't know exactly what time it was, but she was sure it was close to three. _'Where is he? Is he coming? Was it even really his note? Of course it was, it had to be. He'll be here, I know he will.'

* * *

_

Naruto had had to use quite a bit of chakra to catch himself on the cliff face as he flew down, and then he dropped down rather quickly, finally landing on the Hokage's office, and then rushing away to third training ground. On the way he found out it was 2:55. _'Crap, I gotta get there now!'_ He moved as fast as he could across Konoha, but he knew even at his pace it would take at least 15 minutes to get there from where he was.

When he arrived he couldn't immediately see Hinata, so he thought the worst. Hinata heard him land though, so she got up and ran at him, hugging him from behind, and holding on tightly. The hug caught him off guard, but once he understood what was going on, he relaxed, and squirmed in her arms so that he could face her and return the embrace. "Sorry I'm late, Hinata-chan, I got a little held up."

Hinata was almost smothering herself in Naruto's chest. "You came, you actually came." Her voice was muffled by the material.

Naruto looked down to her, and thought about why he had been late. "Of course I came, I… I love you Hinata." He could feel her tense up in his arms.

Hinata turned her face up to see Naruto, and then she had to squint because of the tears welling in her eyes. "Naruto-kun…?"

"I mean it Hinata. After everything that's happened. I really love you." He was speaking in a low tone, the tone he used when he was absolutely serious.

A tear rolled down Hinata's face. Her disbelief was dispelled. "I've always loved you Naruto-kun." And she stepped up on her toes to kiss him.

After the admissions and kiss, Naruto and Hinata sat down with their backs against the very log Naruto had once been tied to. They sat for hours and just talked, holding each other the entire time. They talked about almost every experience they had together. "It was here, during the chunin exam, do you remember what you said to me?"

Naruto thought back to the day he fought Neji. "oh yeah, I said 'I like people like you'. I meant that in a totally innocent way back then."

"I know, but everything you said to me back then was enough to make me faint, saying something like that froze me for a few minutes, Kiba had to shake me out of it." She started thinking again, and suddenly blushed when she found this particular memory. "Naruto-kun, do you remember when you and my team went looking for that bug that could find Sasuke? How you saw that girl by the waterfall?"

Naruto considered this. "Oh yeah, wait what about it?" He looked at Hinata who was blushing furiously. "wait, wait, wait, THAT WAS YOU?!" She nodded slightly. Naruto laughed a little to himself. "Well, you were ultra pretty like I said." He held her tightly to himself. The sun was getting lower on the horizon, and Naruto had been meaning to say this for a while. "Hinata, its getting late, would you like to, maybe, come back to my place for a little while?"

Hinata as inexperienced but not stupid, she knew full well where things might lead if she went home with him. "ok Naruto-kun, lets go." As she spoke she stood up, dusting her self off. Naruto was up right behind her, and they leapt off into the trees.

When they got to his apartment he insisted they come in through the balcony instead of the front door, and once they were inside they sat down on the couch. It wasn't even 30 seconds before they were in each others arms and making out. The kissing was deepening much faster then it had the previous night. In an act of instinct Naruto picked Hinata up by her bottom and back, holding her up right to his body. To help him balance Hinata wrapped her legs around his waist and held on to his back. The kiss didn't break as he carried her into the bedroom, but their faces finally separated when he lay her down on his bed, and removed his jacket throwing it to the other side of the room.

Hinata felt the bed around her, trying memorize every part of it. Then she looked up at Naruto who was leaning over her and unzipping her jacket. She wanted something different this night. "Slower this time, Naruto-kun. I want to see you." She couldn't believe she was saying it, but after spending all day with Naruto, she was feeling much more comfortable with him.

He nodded, and slowed his pace as he slid her jacket off of her, caressing her arms as he went. He agreed with her, going slow and getting to know each other had been the theme today, so he was fine with continuing it. He reached down to her hips, rubbing her sides as he went, and then grabbed the bottom of her shirt and began to pull it up over head. Once it was off her bra fell away, still torn in half from the cloud ninja's attack. He had seen her breasts in the moonlight last night, but here in his room with the lights on he could see them much clearer. Her skin was pale, but beautiful and unblemished. He stared for a moment before realizing that Hinata was blushing terribly, so he averted his eyes to her face, and moved forward to kiss her again.

Hinata knew it was her turn, pressed her index finger against his chest, and traced the lines of his muscles down to his own waist. She grabbed his shirt with both hands and pulled it up. Naruto held his arms up to help her get it off of him, and then it was her chance to stare at him. The first thing she saw was his finely toned body. Then her eyes fell onto the strange tattoo on his chest. She had never seen anything like it before, and had never thought Naruto to be the kind to get tattoos. "Naruto-kun, what's this?" she asked, poking at his gut with her finger. Naruto suddenly looked terrified as he stared into her eyes.

Naruto realized he had to say something. He turned his head and stared down at his own knees on the bed. "Hinata-chan, there's something I need to tell you that, might change things. I'll understand if you hate me after you know." He prayed that wouldn't happen though. "You know the story of the 9 tiled demon fox that attacked the village right?" She nodded, her face showing surprise at what was going on. He continued, "well, here's the true story. The demon couldn't be killed. Yondaime Hokage couldn't beat the creature like that, all he could do was seal the demon away…inside someone else…me…"

Hinata understood the last words almost before he said them. _'A demon? Naruto's a demon? So, this is why every adult has always been so wary of him, why father…'_ Hinata shrunk away from Naruto at first, and covered her chest with he arms. She could see the anguish in his eyes, and stopped. Then she moved forward and hugged him. "It doesn't change who you are. You have always been this and I always loved you then, so why wouldn't I love you now that I know?" She meant it.

Naruto was nearly brought to tears when he heard this, and held her tighter then ever to his body.

* * *

She couldn't find Naruto anywhere. Sakura had looked everywhere for Naruto, and asked every one who might have had any idea where else to look. After sunset Sakura had gotten a little desperate and searched some of the training fields to see if he was there. Nothing. Eventually she gave up and decided to just go home. She would pass by Naruto's apartment on her way from where she was. 

When she passed by the building she could see his lights were on, so she decided to at least have some success in her day and go talk to him now at least. When she knocked on the door she heard a loud thud followed by some hushed and frantic speaking. Sakura even thought she could hear two voices. Naruto suddenly threw open the door, practically yelling out at her "What!?"

Sakura was shocked by his attitude, and barely managed to squeak out a "hi, Naruto."

Naruto looked at Sakura, and for the first time in his life he can honestly say he was not happy to see her. But he couldn't make a scene of this. "oh, sorry Sakura, whats up?"

Sakura looked at Naruto, he was in his pajama's, with that ridiculous frog hat and everything, but it was all on wrong. Most of his buttons were in the wrong place and his pants were on backwards. "It's probably nothing, I just saw you with Jiraiya –sama earlier an something looked serious, so I was curious." Only after she said this did she realize he hadn't called her chan.

Naruto tried to fake the most reassuring, non-rushed voice he could "Don't worry about that Sakura, nothings going on. Anyway I'm just a little tired so I'll see you later ok? Bye."

Sakura could hear urgency and, if it were possible, annoyance in his voice. _'What's going on in there?'_ She wanted an answer, and knew Naruto couldn't say no to her. "uhhhh, Naruto, can I, come in for a minute?"

Naruto was tempted for a minute by his old ways to just agree with Sakura unquestioning, but snapped out of it when he remembered his "house guest". "Sorry Sakura, I'm gonna be going to bed now I had a rough day. But I'll see you later ok?" He wasn't trying to hide his anxiety any more.

'_THAT"S IT SOMETHINGS GOING ON IN THERE AND I'M GONNA FIND OUT WHAT!!!!' _**'YEAH!!!!'** Sakura practically pushed Naruto aside as she moved into his apartment saying "It'll only be for a minute Naru…" She stopped when his bedroom came into view. The door was open and through it she could see Hinata sitting up in his bed, covered only be the bed sheet she held to her chest.

Hinata's eyes were wide and her face showed an odd mix of fear and shame. Sakura turned to face Naruto, who wouldn't meet her eyes. She turned back to Hinata, and then spun around and ran out of the building, jumping away over the railing.

Naruto closed his door, and walked back to Hinata, reaching out to hold her. She let him, and returned the contact. They sat in silence for some time. Hinata uunderstood the message he was giving her. 'I choose you' is what she could feel him saying.

* * *

Sakura flew over the roof tops until she found a tree half way between her home and Naruto's. She hid among the leaves and cried, trying to remain quiet as she did so. As she sat there her mind raced with what was going on. She wondered when she had fallen in love with Naruto, when Naruto and Hinata had gotten together, how could he have chosen her over me? After a while she calmed herself down, and wiped the tears from her eyes. It did no good as they just kept falling. 

Sakura was trying to understand why it hurt so much to be rejected like this when all she had ever done was reject Naruto. _'It's just like when Sasuke-kun left. The men I love always abandon me eventually. Sauke-kun…' _She drifted inot thoughts of the old days of team 7, and fell asleep right on the branch of the tree.

* * *

A/N: How sad for Sakura, but such a good day for Hinata and Naruto. Don't know when I'll get the next chap up, but it will focus on an unexpected arrival in Konohagakure. The action's gonna pick back up soon. 


	7. Reunion

A/N: Special Thanks to lost-in-dreams-forever for including me in that C2 archive, New Beginnings. If I'm understand the system properly that's a good thing. Anyway in this chap I finally get working on that fourth promise in the Summary.

Reviews: PaulRap: Jiraiya would have been the fourth person up there, and thnx fer the reviews.

Maned: Sakura's a bit of a cowardly ditz every once in a while before the time skip, and back then I didn't like her much either. But lately she's been earning a bit more respect. Sorry to disappoint you but Sakura will not come out of all of this empty handed.

Disclaimer: I have no rights to Naruto, but this is still fun.

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Chapter 7: Reunion

Hinata woke up and took in a deep breath of air. Something was burning. She shot up and looked around for Naruto but couldn't find him, so she wrapped the bed sheet around her body and walked out of the bedroom and into the living/entry/dining room. She could see into the tiny kitchen and Naruto was smothering a fire with a towel. When he was done, and some of smoke cleared he turned and saw Hinata standing there. She smiled at him.

Naruto scratched his head, "I was trying to actually make something but it didn't come out that good, instant ramen ok with you?" He tried to make this sound funny, and from Hinata's giggling he thought he had succeeded.

Hinata nodded at the prospect of Ramen, and said through her small little laughs at seeing Naruto fail at cooking so much badly "I'll go get dressed."

While she was putting on her clothes, the same set she had been wearing for several days now minus the bra, she thought of two things, the first was that her clothes were filthy and that she would have to somehow explain to everyone back at the manor why she had been gone for so long. The second thought was an image of Sakura's tragic face the night before. Once she was clothed she walked back into the dining room where her ramen cup was waiting for her, and she sat down and began eating it quickly. She hadn't realized she was so hungry, and when it was all gone she still wanted more. "Naruto-kun, about Sakura last night…" Naruto had already gotten up to throw away the trash so she said this without being able to see his face.

Naruto didn't turn around. He stood there for a moment collecting his thoughts and then said, "If Sakura had come to me like that 3 days ago, I would have invited her in and you and I would never have been together." He said it so plainly because it was something he had believed for many years. Then he turned to Hinata and said "But she didn't, and I choose you. I am worried about Sakura, she's…like a sister to me. But she's strong, I think she'll be able to get over me and move on. I just hope we can still be friends afterward."

Hinata felt better, for both Sakura and herself. But she wanted a little more assurance. "You're sure she'll be ok? She looked awfully hurt last night."

Naruto put on his good guy smile and looked right at Hinata, "Positive, Sakura is one of the strongest women I know."

* * *

Sakura had spent all night in that tree. When she woke up she was cold, sore, and still tired from the restlessness of the sleep. She decided she would go home and rest a bit more in her own bed. She didn't move. _'I really should go home' _She still didn't move. _'I'm I going to spend the rest of my life in this tree?'_ She stood up then, but then sat back down again moments later. Her knees were in front of her and she placed her head on them, wrapping her arms around her head. Tears began to fall from her face onto her legs and lap. **'Get over it, it was just Naruto.' **_'Shut up' _Her inner voice quieted down for a moment, then **'I'm sorry'** and faded out.

Eventually Sakura knew she had to move, so she started building hopping back home. When she got there she hopped into the shower and washed away all her tears. Once she was done she redressed and sat in her bed. On the nightstand was the picture of team 7 from 3 years ago. Kakashi, standing over them, Naruto and Sasuke glaring at each other, and her, standing in the middle oblivious to any would be problems. Reminiscing always made her feel better. But then she had a serious line of thoughts. _'When did our innocence disappear? Sasuke's, was when he was just a little boy, when Itachi… And Naruto, he told me about that Mizuki, when he learned about the demon, but I think it was really gone when he tried so hard to save Sasuke, and failed. What about me? I'm the weak one, always have been. Is it good that I have never killed another? Or does it somehow make me pathetic?' _She continued her thoughts while gazing out the window, leaning on the window sill.

She stared out at Konoha, her home. She could see a ninja leaping across buildings. It wasn't that rare in a city of Ninja, but something about him caught her eyes. He was in loose fitting clothing and had a sword attached to his sash. She realized what it was, his sash was that strange coiled purple binding that Orochimaru and his servants would often wear. When the ninja stopped moving her fears and hopes were realized simultaneously. She could never in her life not recognize that mid length black hair. Even at this distance, it was obvious to her that she was staring at Sasuke-kun, and that he was turning and would facing her momentarily.

She ducked behind her window, praying that Sasuke had/had not seen her. All of her reactions around him were mixed like this. During the last time they had found him she had thrown a punch at him, both intending to harm him ad praying that something would stop her, which Yamato did. She couldn't tell if Sasuke was still out there or not, but she dare not look for fear of calling his attention.

She slowly raised her head and looked to where she had last seen him. He was still standing there, though he was facing away from her now. His movement was so quick, Sakura could only tell he had moved at all from the fact that he was no longer there. She frantically searched for some sign of which way he had gone, and her peripheral vision caught a flash of him moving at blinding speeds to the south, towards the city gate.

She had to follow him, she knew that much. But going alone would be suicide. And she couldn't ask Tsunade-sensei for help, she would insist that Sakura bring Naruto to her office without word and she would dispatch the ANBU to deal with Sasuke. Sasuke was heading south, if Sakura were to follow, she would pass near Naruto's home. _'Naruto…' _**'You've got to damn it, he's the only one who can help, NOW GET MOVING!'** She took the command from her inner voice and leapt off toward Naruto's home. If he wasn't there she would go alone. If Hinata was still there, it wouldn't matter, I need Naruto's help for this, and he'll understand that.

Naruto was alone in his house but almost dancing out of shear joy at how happy he was. Hinata had left a little while ago, to go home and change her clothes as well as check in with her family. Before he would let her go he had made her promise to have dinner with him tonight at Ichiraku's. Some how his life had taken a turn for the better, and he met the woman of his dreams who had always been right in front of him. Then he heard a pound at the door.

Sakura slammed her fist into the door, giving Naruto 5 seconds to respond before she would start pursuing Sasuke again. He made her time limit, and stared out at her. He was about to say something but Sakura didn't want to waste time on pity "Sasuke, he here now we have to go!"

Naruto had been going to apologize and try to explain himself to her, but when heard her that all disappeared. "Where?"

"Follow me." She leapt from the apartment door and began her run towards the south gate.

Naruto followed close behind her, silent. He knew this much at least, Sakura hadn't changed. Even if she was closer to Naruto, Sasuke would always be far more important. He felt the old pains of jealousy rise up in him for a moment, but pushed them down. He had Hinata, and soon he would have his brother back too. If all went well.

* * *

Sasuke was, if it could be called that, relieved when he saw Sakura duck down under her window. It wouldn't do him any good if Sakura decided to burst out of her home and start attacking the other person who had just appeared. Sasuke sized up his opponent. His skin was the same sickly pale tone as always, but his hair had now become stark white to match. His eyes maintained their animalistic qualities, but had grown somewhat darker by comparison. All in all, it was still easy to recognize him, despite these altered traits. But… "So then, which of the names have you decided to keep?"

His pursuer stayed perfectly still for a moment. Then he smiled and stared up at his would be student, "Orochimaru will do fine, though we are not truly "him" any more."

Sasuke heard this and noted it, _'still holds onto that title, which shows nothing but that his arrogance has been carried over perfectly. Regardless, I will finish this quickly, but…' _"In the forest." Orochimaru looked a little confused by this remark, so Sasuke continued "We shall finish this there, we wouldn't want interlopers to appear and act as distractions."

Orochimaru let out a soft laugh, "Still protecting your friends, Sasuke-kun?"

It was now Sasuke's turn to laugh, "Nothing of the sort, I just don't want to have to waste time slicing a bystander in two. You're the only one I want to kill. I'll let you choose specifically where it happens though, lead the way."

Orochimaru flicked away and Sasuke began to follow.

Sasuke remembered Sakura as he approached the woods. If she had seen which way they went, she would no doubt follow, and she would likely bring Naruto with her. Sasuke couldn't have his fight interrupted, if they arrived, he would just use "That".

* * *

A/N: I'm sure you can all see where this is going, like I said, the action's gonna start picking up. 


	8. Kage level

A/N: Well I've earned the Romance tag and M rating. Now it's time to earn that Action/Adventure tag. Needless to say, stuffs about to get blown up. On a side note, I thought I'd mention that I'm American (CA) and have zero experience in the Japanese language beyond what I glean from subbed anime. That being said I will represent most jutsu in English, save for a few that sound much cooler in Japanese. As for the honorifics, I know a few ok, but I'm vastly inexperienced in there use. If I mess up with them please flame me. No really I mean it flame me I'm always looking for constructive criticism. The fact that I haven't got much so far either says that my writing is perfect or just better then yours, both of which I doubt. I'm always looking to get better so make with the insults.

Reviews:

Matt: You overestimate me. I've had this fic prepared for well over two months in my head. I've just been too nervous and lazy to actually post till a few days ago. When I finally got the gall to actually post the chapter, I figured, what the hell, and started posting the chapters as fast as I could translate them from thought into text. Thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you like the story so far.

Disclaimer: The following is not in any way produced under any protected permission of the owner/s of the characters/places/concepts or indeed any of the major ideas beyond the adapted storyline. Under no circumstances can I make any money or personal gain from creating this story. I'm doing it for fun.

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Chapter 8: Kage-Level

Sakura and Naruto reached the trees, and had no where else to go. Neither of them could track, and though Naruto had thought of going to get Hinata to assist them, he remembered the events of the previous night and concluded that it would just cause more tension. Luckily they didn't have a need to track. Moments later they heard it, the echoes of trees collapsing en masse. Having lived in Konoha all their lives and specifically their experiences during the chunin exams, they could recognize the sounds and follow almost as soon as they were made. They couldn't be sure it was Sasuke, but some how they both were.

* * *

Of course Sasuke had known the chosen battlefield was far to close to the village. Someone from the village would notice something, and come running to investigate. But then, he imagined that that was part of Orochimaru's goal. _'Even now, every one of them he kills makes him feel greater. Pathetic, to measure ones capability by killing weaklings'_

Sasuke couldn't really protest though.

Orichimaru began the fight by summoning an enormous python to strike out at his former apprentice. The python lashed out with its great jaws, cutting a swath through the trees before stopping suddenly and lunging back. When Orochimaru could see its face, he could see that the beast had been badly burned, and both of its eyes were closed, clearly having been destroyed by the flames. Shortly after the creature reared, a long blade of lighting struck out and sliced the creature in two, killing it finally. It disappeared in cloud. Orochimaru prepared himself, he would be attacked soon.

Sasuke knew the snake had been nothing but a warm up for both of them. But Sasuke had no desire to simply play games with the psychotic missing nin. He would end this now. One massive Body flick later he was right in front of the pale psycho swinging his metal blade quickly, aiming to decapitate him. He succeeded of course, but only in so far as decapitation was only annoying to Orochimaru. The trick with fighting him is to locate which of the two separate pieces of his body his conscience had retreated to. Though he favored his head, Sasuke had a feeling that in this case Orochimaru would remain in his torso. Sure enough, moments later, a snake lashed out of his stump of a neck and struck out at Sasuke. Even without an active sharingan, he could see it coming and dodge it.

Sasuke was moving quickly. He spun his body and slashed through Orochimaru's body twice, once with his steel blade, once with his lightning blade. Orochimaru was inhabiting his legs at this moment, and quickly created a hoard of snakes from his cleaved waist. Of course Sasuke could handle them, but that wasn't the point of using them. Orochimaru's true self had never been hit, and sasuke was slicing away at a snake clone, connected to the real Orochimaru through the right foot. The time had come, and Orochimaru surfaced behind Sasuke, opening wide his mouth and launching, blade first his kusanagi sword.

Sasuke only narrowly dodged the blade from behind, flicking himself away to the side. Orochimaru's speed for subterranean movement had increased, no doubt an ability gained from his most recent body. _'Well, I didn't want to waste any time'_ Sasuke slid the upper part of his clothing off, and soon his whole body was covered with the rapidly spreading flame marks. His skin tinted green, and his hair grew longer and lighter. His Sharingan activated, and the transformation was completed when two enormous wings formed out of his back. No matter how many times he unleashed this power, it felt foreign to him, most of all the wings, great unruly things. But they were useful, and as long as he had power, it didn't matter.

"So, you're resorting to that again, Sasuke-kun. It may have been powerful enough to hold me…_him_ off before, but I've changed so much, it won't work anymore." Orochimaru smiled and laughed a little.

Sasuke's face was rigid. "We shall see, I was holding back last time." He lifted off into the air, supported by the unorthodox flapping of his wings. With a release of chakra he was able to reach an insane velocity, and drove straight into Orochimaru, lifting him off the ground and hurling him sky ward. "As I said, you will fly in the talons of a hawk, and now you shall have no where in the earth to hide!!!"

Orochimaru was no fool, he understood plainly Sasuke's strategy in changing this to an air fight. He also knew it wouldn't work. Orochimaru limbs wiped out violently, and then stretched out towards Sasuke. Being mobile, he easily dodged each one while traveling faster and faster straight up towards his prey. Just as Orochimaru had planned. His stretched out right hand bulged and reshaped to the size of a full grown man. It's skin suddenly exploded off, revealing Orochimaru beneath, the arm of his other body extending out of this body's mouth. He was now behind Sasuke, out of the range of his Sharingan eyes. Orochimaru prepared his hand signs, and the body extending from his mouth fell apart into several snakes which flew downward ready to bite Sasuke, who had gotten much to close and was moving far to fast to dodge them all even with his eyes.

Sasuke reacted quickly, folding his wings around his body to protect from the assaulting snakes. As soon as they made contact with the fleshy appendages he spread them wide with such force the snakes were hurtled away. His eyes turned down to the true Orochimaru. Sasuke smiled slightly, wondering if Orochimaru really thought he was such a fool.

Orochimaru felt the wires before any of his other senses noticed them. They wrapped tightly around his body. He looked up towards Sasuke, who was already performing the hand seals and gathering the fire chakra in his mouth. Orochimaru had watched Sasuke's advancements these three years. Despite being a relatively simple technique, his control of the chakra and the intensity of the amount use was enough to destroy even Orochimaru with a direct hit. Orochimaru heard the call out "FIRE RELEASE: DRAGON FIRE JUTSU!!" The enormous flame, taking the shape of a dragon, rushed down the wires towards Orochimaru.

Sasuke had to follow it up with another attack. Orochimaru would not be taken so easily, but Sasuke was hidden behind the massive fire jutsu, which would grant him a surprise attack the moment the fire dispersed and Orochimaru was flung out into the air again. Sure enough as the fire dispersed he could see Orochimaru having been launched away sideways after coughing up another version of him self to use as an escape. Sasuke wasted no time. He flew at top speed through the remaining flames and impaled Orochimaru on his sword. Sasuke was glad to see that he had caught Orochimaru by surprise with this attack, and was even more pleased to see a look of fear shoot across his master's face when he realized what was coming next. "CHIDORI CURRENT!!"

Electricity crackled around Sasuke's body, and from their close proximity it surged through Orochimaru as well. They impacted the ground with a thunderous crash, right in the middle of the scar created by the earlier python. Sasuke stood over the paralyzed Orochimaru and grinned down at him. "You will die now Orochimaru." Sasuke stepped back, took a deep breath, and prepared to unleash a fireball that would incinerate this man once and for all. He was stopped by a sharp pain in his leg. He looked down and could see that Orochimaru's foot had become a snake, and bit him. Orichimaru smiled, and stood up, his one leg looking strange as he had to balance on the snake.

Once he reached his feet he looked at Sasuke, who was still standing despite the wound in his shin. "That was Kabuto-kun's gift to me. You cannot kill me in that way, you cannot kill me in any way. But do not fear Sasuke-kun. You see it is still your body that I want. You will not be killed, but you will have to be stored. Kabuto-kun's memories will assist in that. You will remain quite alive, but quite docile. And by the time I need you, that will of yours will have eroded away, s I can truly take you as my own." His snake-leg gripped it's teeth all the deeper into Sasuke's shin. "So then, we must continue."

* * *

Awestruck, they could only watch. Sakura had been disgusted at first, when Sasuke took on that hideous form. But all was overridden with amazement when the battle took to the skies. Now they could see, something had changed. Sasuke had lost whatever advantage he had held, now that Orochimaru felt comfortable enough to talk with him. Sakura turned to Naruto, she needed a plan, and could only pray hat he had one. But his face was as lost as hers for what to do. So they continued to wait. Wait for an opportunity to arise when they could do something.

* * *

A/N: ACTION ACTION ACTION!!!! I know it's a big shift after the last few chapters being all lovey dovey and all that. But hey, like I said there would be plenty of action in this fic. Don't worry though, Naruto and Sakura won't be on the sidelines for much longer, and once they enter the fray you just know emotions are gonna start piling up faster then hobos on a ham sandwhich. 


	9. Desperate Measures

A/N: Keep them reviews comin. This time a special shout out to all the people who favorited this story. I'm glad you guys like it, and I will keep it coming. 1. DynastyWarriors6 2. Kazama Shin 3. May-chan1991 4. Paul Powell 5. RedMegaMan 6. RiseInFlamesMichael 7. kEyBlAdE mAsTeR kAyU 8. lost-in-dreams-forever 9. shinjitheassassin

Reviews: Matt: Oh I'm sure I could write up chapters for a completely new story that fast. I just don't like to, prefer to mentally edit them before a post them to make them of higher quality. Theory be crushed!!! Lol.

Disclaimer: Don't own. Nuff said.

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Chapter 9: Desperate Measures

"If only we could hear what they were saying, we might have some idea what was going on." Naruto said this in a hushed whisper, there was no reason to draw the attention of the combatants. "Why would Sasuke betray Orochimaru? Why did they come here?" These questions had found no answers in Naruto's head so he felt the need to voice them to his partner.

Sakura's eyes were still fixed on the scene, but she found voice enough to ask "Do think that Sasuke is here to…"

"I think that's hoping too much Sakura, I still think we need to bring him back by force." It hurt him to denounce those hopes when they were his as well, but he couldn't let their guard drop. One thing he was sure of, _'I'm going to make my move soon, I'll aim to knock out Sasuke, and then I'll find a way to get rid of Orochimaru. Sakura will have to take care of Sasuke.' _He just had to wait for the opportunity to arise.

* * *

Sasuke looked down at his shin again. It was bleeding quite heavily onto the ground. _'So even though I have the face of a demon, I still bleed as any mortal. I am still this frail? Orochimaru, I will still find a way to kill you, and then him…'_ Sasuke brought forth his sword and sliced the head off of the snake at his leg, shaking the decapitated creature away when he was done. Orochimaru was quick to retaliate, reaching forward with both arms, each which had dissolved into five snakes. Sasuke easily beheaded each, and jumped upwards just as several more tunneled out of the earth beneath him. Once he was air born again, Sasuke stared down at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru ginned at Sasuke, amazed out how stubborn he was in choice of tactics. _'I told him it would be useless.'_ Orochimaru opened his mouth and a new upper torso for him to use climbed out and launched out into the air, connected to the ground based body by its snake like lower half. During his ascent, Orochimaru drew from his mouth his Kusanagi sword, and wielded it in his hand. When he reached the height of Sasuke, he swung the blade at the Uchiha, but missed. _'Those eyes will make this somewhat troublesome then.'_

Sasuke did fear this of Orochimaru; the Kusanagi was not to be trifled with. He dare not block such a weapon with hi pathetic steel sword, nor could he attempt any attack that could potentially be blocked by the mystic blade. Dodging in mid air with his maneuverability was easy enough, but he had to go on the offensive soon, otherwise his curse seal would begin to backfire. He patiently dodged attacks as they came, and when he saw the opening his lightning sword manifested and slashed smoothly through Orochimaru's torso, lobbing the creature in half.

'_You're mine now Sasuke-kun'_ Orochimaru, still standing on the ground far below, bit down to sever his connection with the snake clone. He then lifted his arm, and twitched his fingers, commanding the now hovering Kusanagi to move. It swung itself quickly and sliced Sasuke's right arm. _'Not a deep cut, but I can do better.' _ He twitched his fingers again, and the blade swung itself in an arc, this time it was blocked in its motion by Sasuke's lightning sword. This lasted only a moment, before the Kusanagi sliced through Sasuke's defense and delivered a heavy slash to his chest. _'Now to retrieve my next body'_ Orochimaru's arms shot up at high speeds, one grabbing the handle of his sword, the other gripping tightly into Sasuke's throat. He then brought them both back down to him at a high speed, slamming Sasuke into the ground. Sasuke was still in his cursed seal state, and tried to lift himself up to begin attacking again, but hew was held down to the ground by several snakes that had crawled out of the Earth.

Orochimaru laughed and licked his lips with his long tongue as he looked down at his old apprentice. "Well Sasuke-kun you have gotten stronger, but not nearly strong enough. Even id you deny it, you still need me if you want to defeat Itachi. I promise I will wait to kill him until I am in your body, but until then we cannot have you running around making these pointless rebellions. I gave you a great power, now I will take it back." Orochimaru's neck elongated, allowing his head to travel down and bite Sasuke in his neck, right where he had once before during a chunin exam long ago.

Sasuke reeled with the pain that was coursing through him now, and was horrified as he felt his power fading away. His hair shortened, his wings folded back into him, he seemed so drained of chakra that he couldn't even use his sharingan any more. When his transformation was over, the snakes released their hold on his body, but Sasuke could not move. His whole body paralyzed in total pain, as if every nerve cell in his body was screaming from an invisible fire. And above him, muffled in his ringing ears he could hear Orochimaru's laughter, and then he heard it suddenly cut off. As limited as his vision was, he could see something red standing over him.

* * *

Sakura saw Sasuke go down, and Orochimaru bite him. Memories of the last time that happened flooded into her, and she couldn't take it anymore. She charged straight out of her hiding place, leapt and planted her fist right into Orochimaru's face, unleashing a burst of chakra that sent the snake master flying away, tumbling in the dirt. She then turned her attention to Sasuke, who was still lying on the ground, now apparently unconscious. She turned and rolled him onto his back, then supported his head so she could look into his face. His eyes were open, but they looked glazed and unfocused. His body was limp, and his heart rate was slow. Naruto finally caught up to her, and took one glance at Sasuke before refocusing on Orochimaru.

Naruto watched as Orochimaru stood up and simply peeled away his skin, revealing a second complete set underneath it, this second set had no injuries on it, no evidence of the face shattering punch that Sakura had thrown into him. Naruto still thought he had the best plan, so he relayed it. "Sakura, take Sasuke and run. Take him somewhere you can treat his wounds. I'll hold Orochimaru here, and do whatever I have to do to stop him."

Sakura looked at Naruto, and then she stared down at the ground. "Naruto, you can't use the Kyuubi, not without Yamato to seal it back in."

Naruto nodded, "If all goes according to plan, I won't have to."

Sakura's eyes grew wide with horror. "You can't use the Rasenshuriken either." She caught Naruto's attention with that remark, and she looked up at him through tear filled eyes. "Tsunade-sensei told me, it didn't just break you arm, or slice up Kakuzu. It caused serious cellular damage to both of you, more to him of course. But Naruto, if you continue to use that technique, it will destroy you're ability to mold chakra, or worse, kill you."

Naruto looked at his right hand. _'So, anything I could use to save my friends would kill me.'_ "Go, I'll think of something. And if I can't it will be worth it." Sakura listened to him, nodded and picked up Sasuke to take him away.

Orochimaru had watched the whole exchange with mild curiosity, waiting for one of them to make the first move. But when he saw the girl pick up Sasuke, he had to react. Orochimaru moved forward at blinding speed, but right when he was about to strike the girl, a large number of shadow clones appeared and blocked his way, tackling him and attacking furiously but pitifully. They were easy enough to repel with several snakes summoned to constrict and bite them. But when the initial attack wave was done, there was no sign of the girl or Sasuke, just the jinchuuriki, Naruto, standing in his way. "Very well Naruto-kun, you die first."

* * *

Sakura ran through the trees, she had to get far enough away that it would be safe, but she had to stop soon enough that she could treat Sasuke. She found a secluded area, shaded by thick trees. She lay Sasuke down and began her preliminary examination. A tear fell from her cheek onto Sasuke when she finished. "Sasuke, what did he do to you?" His body was a wreck. There was severe muscle tearing in many of his limbs, and his ribs and many other smaller bones such as his fingers had been broken. Worst of all was his heart, which had been so taxed in trying to keep his body moving that it was now slowing down to almost nothing.

Sakura remembered her first lessons under Tsunade. Tsunade had made it very clear hat medical ninjutsu could not perform Miracles, that there was a limit, a line between saving a life, and raising the dead which must never be crossed. Sasuke was well beyond even Tsunade's ability to help. Nothing could save him. **'What!!!! HE CAN DEFINITLY BE SAVED!!! THERE HAS TO BE A WAY!!!! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE PEOPLE SAVED YOU!!!! IT'S YOUR TURN TO SAVE YOUR FRIENDS!!!!' **_'But how?' _**'We'll do it like Chiyo-sama' **Of course Sakura remembered the watching as Chiyo had been able to save her, and then even resurrect Garaa, at the cost of her life. _'How? I don't know the jutsu.'_ **'You've got to try; you don't need a sharingan to copy jutsu.' **Sakura searched her memories for those moments when she had seen Chiyo using up her own soul to save them. She wasn't sure if she could replicate it perfectly, but if she failed Sasuke would die, the results would be no different then if she just gave up.

She leaned her head down to Sasuke's ear, and whispered in a gentle and sad tone. "I hope you can hear me, Sasuke-kun. If you wake up from this I'll probably be dead. But it's ok; I finally got a chance to sacrifice something for someone I loved. Yes that's right, still." She sat back up, placed her hands together to channel the chakra, and placed her hands to Sasuke's chest. _'Take it all Sasuke. My Chakra, my Flesh, even my soul. Take it all if it will help you live.'_

* * *

A/N: That was a powerful chapter for me, especially the end. The next one will heave just as strongly into the drama. 


	10. Choice

A/N: Things are progressing at a good clip, and this is the longest chapter yet. This time I wan to start giving a personal shout out to the people who put this story on alert status. Its really awesome that you guys like this story enough that you have been ok as I flooded your emails with all the recent up dates. I'll be shouting out in groups of five, starting with the first five on my little list. 1. Ckeffer 2. Desert Mortician 3. Dragon Man 180 4. FuturGamer 5. Hinata1996. Thanks for the support guys.

Reviews: Write me one and I might respond!!

Matt: Thanks, maybe, and lol.

Paul: Wouldn't you like to know?

Dragon: Don't fret, it'll still be 3 vs. 1, just keep reading.

Disclaimer: I own nothing yada yada yada, do I really need to keep saying this? No really if I don't need to keep adding the disclaimer I'd appreciate it if someone would tell me. I'll still do it of course cuz' I'm just insanely paranoid like that, but I like to know if I don't _have_ to.

* * *

Chapter 10: Choice 

Naruto knew this stare down wouldn't last long, but he used the time he had to try and think up some kind of plan that didn't include transforming into a demon or destroying all the cells in his arm. So far he only had one, and it wouldn't assure victory, but it was worth a shot. Orochimaru smiled, _'Times up'._ Naruto quickly bit the tips of both his thumbs, causing a small drop of blood to begin flowing down them. Orochimaru was no fool though, he saw the attempted summon and lashed out with an elongated arm, smashing into Naruto and beginning to constrict him as the arm wrapped around the blond ninja. Much to his surprise, Naruto exploded into clouds, revealing he had never charged forward with Sakura at all. The true Naruto, still in the hiding spot, understood the conversations that had occurred and the plans his other self had come up with, and immediately enacted the first one, biting his own thumbs and slamming them into the ground. It would draw Orochimaru's attention to his true self, but at least help would be here.

The summoning created the signature clouds of Ninjutsu, and Orochimaru located them and waited for Gamabunta to appear. His predictions were proven wrong yet again, when rather then one enormous toad manifested, two medium (as far as Narutoverse is concerned) sized toads appeared, flanking Naruto. Each was about 6 feet tall and wide, and each had a large sword strapped to their back. Naruto turned his head to look at his companions. "Gamakichi, Gamatatsu, I need your guys help." The toads turned, and looked down at their summoner.

"Hey what's up Naruto?" Gamakichi said. Despite having increased in mass by ten times, he was still young by toad standards and spoke in an informal and casual tone.

"Will there be snacks?" Gamatatsu droned absent-mindedly. He too was still a child to toads, and retained much of his prior ignorance in many situations.

"The trouble's over there, you might have heard of him, its Orochimaru." His amphibious companions both tensed up at hearing that name.

Gamakichi showed signifigantly more worry, "Isn't that the crazy missing nin who can summon Manda?"

Naruto laughed a little, "Don't worry about that, the last time he summoned that big eel, they had a falling out."

"Well do we have to fight him then?" It was Gamatatsu that said this, breaking from his usual stupefied voice into a serious, battle ready candor.

"Yeah," Naruto said, then he brought out two Kunai with scrolls around the handles. "And I think you guys know how to start it up."

All three said in unison "Right!" The two toads breathed deeply, and expanded their cheeks by several cubic feet. Naruto threw his kunai out side ways, so they would travel right in front of each toad. As the Kunai passed, the toads spit out a massive stream of oil which carried the Kunai with its flow. The aim was perfect, both streams were heading for Orochimaru, and just as they were about to hit, Naruto formed a hand seal and released his chakra, detonating the explosive tags and igniting the oil, transforming the streams into great flames that crashed into where Orochimaru had been standing. _'No way it can be that easy. What did he do when Sasuke was fighting him? DAMN!' _"GUYS JUMP NOW!!" The toads had learned during their training with him to trust Naruto's instincts. They jumped, and just as they did a hoard of snakes burst from the Earth and attempted to attack.

One of the snakes managed to wrap around Gamatatsu's leg, but he killed the creature by drawing his sword and slicing the creature's head off. The three of them sailed through the air, and just as they landed more snakes began to surface, forcing them to jump again. Gamakichi examined the situation, "Normally with earth base concealment jutsu, a person can hide themselves, but can only find opponents based on the noise they make from standing on the ground, and can only attack if they are close enough. This guy is bypassing both of those weaknesses, because his snakes fill the entire battlefield, and they all have eye he can see through, allowing him to predict where we land." He paused for another leap and to repel the snakes that had attacked him. "We need to get him out of the ground!"

"I'll give it a shot!" Naruto reached for his supplies and pulled out two special kunai. They were made of the special chakra channeling metal that allowed Naruto to use them as more effective weapons. He quickly tied exploding tags to each. He hoped they would survive the blast, but had to use them to make this an effective attack. One jump later, he was ready and he threw the blades into the ground. They shot through the earth. He had aimed them purposefully close to where Orochimaru had been standing previously, and once he thought they were deep enough, he released his chakra, detonating the tags. The ground heaved for a moment, then sank into itself from he force of he blast.

The snakes had stopped coming up. _'Alright Naruto, now its our turn'_ Gamakichi called out to his brother, "Grab the first slippery thing you see and pull out of the ground!" Gamatatsu nodded, and when they say two snake-like things suddenly burst from the ground, they moved swiftly, biting them and jumping upwards as hard as they could. After a small amount of stretching, they managed to up root Orochimaru with their leap, so they pulled out their swords and sliced off the hands they had bitten at the top of their leap. Both aimed to slice through the sannin as they fell, and readied their blades.

'_annoying pests' _Orochimaru shed his skin to regenerate his hands, then he shed again. He took his two used skins in hand and they began to move. He then threw them up towards the toads and turned his attention to the ground, where the Kyuubi brat was waiting for him, holding a blue sphere of chakra. Orochimaru drew his own sword and landed on his feet right in front of Naruto. They attacked with their respective weapons.

'_That sword…'_ Naruto clutched his hand. The blade had sliced right through the spiraling sphere and cut deep into Naruto's hand, and now Orochimaru was swinging the blade back and forth, spraying Naruto's blood to the ground. He charged at Naruto then, and Naruto dodged away, pulling out a kunai in his uninjured hand. When the blade approached again he attempted to block it, but it slid smoothly through his knife. Orochimaru had aimed the attack so that even unhindered it would not strike Naruto. _'he's playing with me'_ Naruto continued to dodge the slow and wide attacks, knowing they were nothing but a game. He also looked over to see how the toads were faring. It was bad. The clones had somehow easily beaten the toads and were continuing to pummel them for no reason other then pleasure. _'ENOUGH' _"Guys get out of here, I can handle this alone."

Gamakichi sat up slightly, looking past the monster in front of him. "Handle this alone eh? Not a chance. We'll help you to the bitter end Naruto." He tried in vain to stand up as he said this. And off somewhere else Gamatatsu nodded.

Naurot was proud of the toads, but it wouldn't do now. "I'm going to do something I'm gonna regret, and I can't do it if you guys are here. Go home, and tell your dad I'm sorry for bringing you out here. GO NOW!!!" He really was angry when he said this, already he was feeling it, and he saw the looks on their faces as the disappeared in a cloud of smoke. They had seen Naruto's first chakra tail forming, and it was quickly being followed up by the second.

Orochimaru smiled, "not this time brat" He lashed out with the sword, truly aiming to kill the boy now, but Naruto had gotten faster and dodged away.

Naruto landed a fair distance away from Orochimaru, and looked at him through his changing eyes. Malice was rising, regard for his allies was fading. _'I need to go there. I need to see the Kyuubi!'_

'**Then come'

* * *

**

It was cold, dark and damp. No one but Sasuke had ever seen this about him, and he hoped it would remain that way. He glanced around the room he was in, nothing had changed since his last visit. Then he looked up at the enormous gate, so tall it stretched into the darkness that covered whatever roof there was in this place, if any. And then he looked at the seal. There was something wrong with it, something about it that caught his eye. One of the corners had pealed ever so slightly away from the gate to which it was attached. Only about half a centimeter was hanging loose, but for such a small piece of paper it clearly stood out. Then the beast was with him.

'**Welcome, Naruto. What business do you bring to me today? You already have my chakra beginning to flow into you.' **The Kyuubi was here, outside the gate. Or so Naruto initially thought. Upon closer examination he saw that the monstrous fox still had his tails in wide arcs over Naruto's head and into the cage. He was still confined.

Naruto looked at the demon. He always choose slightly different forms, from a giant disembodied face, to an enormous oozing mass, the one common factor was that they had always terrified and disgusted Naruto. This form was different. The Kyuubi was small, about the same size as the toads. "I don't want your help anymore. Get back in your cage." The Kyuubi was obviously distressed by this.

'**What are you talking about Naruto? You will die without my aid. Except it, and get over this foolish pride.'**

"No. If I keep using your power, you'll just take over again, just like last time."

'**Take over? You give me too much credit. I never actually take control of your body. That would require that this seal…' **The demon leapt across the room, landing on the bars with a paw on the seal. **'This seal would have to be removed entirely for me to directly affect your decisions. No, what happens is much simpler then that. As you take my chakra, and rely more and more on it, you also gain some of my more dominant personality traits, traits we share actually.'**

"What?" Naruto wanted a further explanation, but more he wanted to be able to deny having anything in common with this monster.

'**First there is your natural ferocity, which is the first thing to be noticeably enhanced; you are very animalistic in your fighting even without my influence, thrashing at an opponent and relying mostly on instinct rather then any rationale. Second, there is your determination and focus. The more of my chakra you channel the more these are enhanced. You'd like to think I take over, that it's me who hurts your friends. But its not true, all that chakra does is make you all the more determined then ever to accomplish your current goal, and give you the focus to ignore anything, _anything_ that might impede you. It's all you, Naruto.'**

Naruto hated listening to this, but couldn't deny it was true. **'Now you understand. So go ahead take any of my chakra you can. The more the better. Like you said, I'm just stuck in the cage.'** Naruto hadn't seen the Kyuubi slip between the bars into his cage, but when he had he kept his paw on the seal, and then removed it slowly, pulling it back into the cage. **'But, though I don't control you now, the more chakra you take, the looser this seal gets. And when it's finally gone…' **The Kyuubi had grown massive behind the bars, filling almost the entire space with his face.** 'I'll be free, in spirit and in flesh!'**

Naruto had listened and understood. He wasn't too surprised by all this after all. But now it was time to make a new demand, something the Kyuubi couldn't ignore. "Fine. Then I won't use any of your power. I'll fight him completely on my own."

The Kyuubi laughed a little. **'Don't be stupid Naruto, without me you'll die—'**

"—and you'll die with me. It would be better then freeing you from this place." He had the demon's attention now. "Or we can make a new deal. You give me your power, but don't alter or 'enhance' my personality at all, and do it without burning off the surface of my body."

'**Impossible'**

"Which parts?"

'**All of it, even if I were inclined to do so. You forget Naruto, in any deal you must offer the other person something. What do I get out of this?'**

"We went over that, I live you live, I die you die." It was working, the Kyuubi was showing his dismay. "And if it's not possible, then I'll just have to take my chances against Orochimaru."

'**You little fool! Do you have no desire to continue living?'**

"Not if it means unleashing you!" Naruto and the demon were worked up into a fervor, the demon going so far as to push it's large form out of the cage to come face to face with his jinchuuriki. "I told you what I need, now make it happen or I'm outta here." Naruto turned and began walking towards the hallway that led out of his mind.

He stopped when he heard the Kyuubi laugh one short cough of laughter. **'I could make it happen.' **Naruto turned around to face the demon once more. **'But not as I am now. The chakra is harmful to you, because it cannot leave your body. It molds itself around you and forms an elastic shell, but the form of this seal causes the excess to be channeled back into me. It was designed to protect you, but certain events have made it harmful to you. The last time you truly unleashed the power, you were able at one point to mount a long ranged attack, actually cause the chakra to leave your body. But you did this at extreme strain to your body. And it was that blast which weakened the seal so that this pealing could begin. Still, it is far too little, attempt to use too much of my chakra and the seal will lock it into your body, burning it up from the pressure, but…' **Naruto didn't like this. **'Were you to weaken this seal just a little more, the chakra would be able to flow outward, leave your body, and at no harm to you. You would retain your personality as it is now, and have full control of every minute movement of the chakra. But you are unwilling to do that, aren't you Naruto?' **Now it was the Kyuubi who was manipulating, he knew that Naruto couldn't stand to be told what he would or would not do, how he strived to prove those around him wrong about him.

Now Naruto had to make his choice. He had three options: the first, leave, and fight Orochimaru by himself. Even if he used the Futon: Rasenshuriken he would likely die either from missing or from the backlash effects. Second, leave, and unleash the demon chakra in his current state. Orochimaru would likely be defeated, but then what would happen to Naruto without Yamato here to reseal the demon? And then there was the third, follow the Kyuubi's instructions, reach up, and purposefully weaken the seal. Could he trust the Kyuubi's analysis of the situation, could he trust the Kyuubi at all?

After a long pause that was minutes inside his mind, but less then an instant outside, he made his choice. "I choose to…

* * *

A/N: I'm so mean aren't I? First, I don't even mention Sakura or Sasuke, so you guys have no idea what's goin on with them. Then I give you this cliff hangar of an ending. I bet you all hate me right now. And yet each of you will come crawling back when I get the next chapter up. MWAHAHAHAHA…HHehehehehe 


	11. Inner Strength

A/N: The story's comin along great, and I'm glad my meanness brought out a couple more reviewers. It's my deepest wish that everyone who reads this could also give it a review. This is a very special Author's Note, as I am finally going to reveal the method to my madness. The story as it is currently written in my head follows a specific pattern, that being it goes action romance action romance…, grouped into varying length chapters, and fused together pretty well, furthermore, the current "ending" isn't as much as an ending as where I've stopped adding new content to, but I'm still thinking about possible twists that could be included to keep it going. Anyway so whenever this battle ends expect some romance to start up. Continuing from last chapter, I'm paying special honors to those who put my story on alert status. .6. JSai .7. Janto's Kitsune .8. Kazama Shin .9. KiLlJoY5004 .10. Matt-kun Thanks for showing your appreciation of the story guys.

Review: Ouch guys, sorry I was such a bad guy. I'll make it up to you this chapter, cuz the battle is winding down.

Jon: Thank you that's actually what I'm trying to accomplish, to stay very true to the characters in my kind of situations.

Disclaimer: I really don't own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 10: Inner Strength

Sakura's chakra flow stopped, and she fell back, leaning against a tree for support. She stared at Sasuke with her eyes half open. She was exhausted and out of chakra, but she was alive. She waited, expecting her inner self to jibe at her that of course she was strong enough to succeed, but it didn't come. Instead Sakura could feel her eyelids getting heavier. _'I wonder, if this is how it felt for Chiyo-sama to die from this jutsu. But it's ok, if I did it right, Sasuke will live, and if I ruined it, at least I'll be with him, wherever we go…' _Sakura's eyes closed, and her mind went blank.

* * *

"I choose…"

* * *

Naruto left his mind to see that no time had elapsed during his conversation with Kyuubi. This left him only a moment to move out of the way of Orochimaru's thrust. He could not move his body completely out of the way, and the glowing white blade stabbed cleanly through the flesh near Naruto's right shoulder. Naruto winced and gasped from the pain, but reached out his left hand to grab Orochimaru's neck. "I choose… MY OWN STRENGTH!!"

Orochimaru looked confused for a moment, but then he could see the chakra shell he had seen forming begin to dissipate, until it was completely gone. Orochimaru smiled at Naruto through his grip. "How foolish of you Naruto-kun. How will you defeat me without that amazing chakra?"

Naruto held up his right hand, battling the pain from the shoulder's movement. "Like this!" 3 years of training went into his hand, and he formed the Rasengan without a clone. He didn't hesitate with it, and ground the sphere into Orochimarus chest. The impact was great enough that Orochimaru released his blade, and went flying and spinning through the air, crashing back into the ground head first with a loud crack. In any other person Naruto would have known they would be dead from that kind of impact. But sure enough, Orochimaru simply stood up, realigned his twisted head, and puked out his own visage to regenerate. Naruto ripped the sword out of his body and threw it as far away as he could, remembering that Orochimaru could control it. _'I made my choice, time to go through with it.' _Ignoring once more the pain, he lifted his right arm and made the seal. "Shadow clone Jutsu." Two clones appeared, both slightly to his right. He held up his hand weakly, and they reached out their left arms to ease the process.

He now held in his hand the instrument of doom, not only for Orochimaru but also himself. He held aloft the enormous chakra shuriken, and he and his clones began their charge. Of course Orochimaru retaliated, whipping out his limbs, but the clones deflected those, and paved the way for the real Naruto to approach with his ultimate weapon. When he got close, the Kusanagi suddenly reappeared in Orochimaru's hand, and he readied it to defend against the attack, always with a smile on his face half concealed by his long white hair. Naruto threw all his weight into his attack.

Orochimaru suddenly felt a sickening sensation he had been without for years. Fear. His blade met with this new attack, and didn't slice through. Now it seemed that Naruto was gaining ground on him. _'Impossible'_ The blade was beginning to slide, and then it slipped, leaving Orochimaru defenseless. Naruto's attack seemed to move in slow motion, but when it contacted he heard Naruto call out the name of the attack: "FUTON: RASENSHURIKEN!!!!!"

* * *

In the aftermath, Orochimaru was completely drained of chakra, it had taken all of it to keep his cells regenerating as the attack tried to rip him to shreds. He hobbled away from the battlefield, away from Konoha, ashamed and infuriated that he had lost. But is it really failure? He had not seen Naruto after he managed to crawl out of the crater. It was possible that Naruto to had been killed by the backlash of such a technique. But Orochimaru doubted it. He knew that he would have to return someday to retrieve Sasuke, and when he did he would learn the fate of Naruto.

* * *

Sakura could sense movement near her. She opened her heavy eyes a small way, and saw through them that Sasuke was lifting himself up onto his arms and knees. Sakura woke up more now, but still felt too tired to really move with any enthusiasm. She called out to him "Sasuke-kun are you ok?" Sasuke turned his head slightly to face her, and then he stood fully up right, and drew his sword. Sakura cowered before him as he slowly lowered the blade, until the tip was right in front of her.

Sasuke gazed at Sakura. In his mind he was asking many questions, and so he decided to voice one in the hopes of getting an answer. "What happened? Speak."

Sakura, still scared witless could only think to answer him. "You were too injured to fight, so I brought you here and…"

Sasuke smirked, "What an amateur move. Didn't you think it foolish to use up all your energy helping an injured _enemy_?" He said this with spite and mockery in his voice.

Sakura shed a tear, "You will never be our enemy Sasuke-kun. You may have abandoned us, but we will never abandon you."

"Fools." Sasuke stood absolutely still. _'Why can't I do it? I'm right here, all I have to do is push forward ever so slightly, and she will be dead. Why am I hesitating.' _Sasuke's mind was flooded with images, images that he had managed to bury deep in his mind for years now. He tried to fight them off, but something was happening to his mind. The distress was beginning to show outside of him.

Sakura stared up at Sasuke, watching his face as he battled some inner turmoil. She felt the need to reach out, to touch him, to comfort him, but the sword was still right in front of her. She began shifting her position, slowly, as not to excite Sasuke, she slid slowly sideways, waiting for him to react. When he began to lift his free hand she feared the worst, but he only lifted it and placed it on his forehead, clearly showing he was distracted. She moved quickly then, getting completely out of the path of the blade.

He saw her move, but he was too frozen to do anything. Sasuke stood bewildered, clutching his head instinctively, despite the fact that it would not calm his mind at all. Every memory he had seemed to be playing through his mind in fast forward. By now he was also breathing heavily, and it took all his concentration to stop from collapsing to the ground. Whatever was affecting him seemed to be calming down, he was regaining more motor function. He turned once more to face Sakura who was crawling away slowly now. He walked slowly up behind her, and she knew he was coming. Perhaps that was why she chose to lean against the next tree, facing him once more. He approached and placed his sword once more right in front of her chest, ready to stab through and end her life. But as he took up this position again, his mind was clouded once more with old memories. This time it was worse, and he lowered the sword and stumbled backwards away from her, once again pressing his free hand into his forehead.

Sakura was terrified, _'why is he acting like this? Should I try to run away again? He reacts whenever he's near me. What is going on?'_

Sakura didn't know how to respond to what happened next. Naruto, clutching his right arm which hung limp to his side, hobbled into their sight. The three stood in utter silence, Sakura looking back and forth between the two of hem, Naruto staring at Sasuke, and Sasuke staring blankly at the ground, as if he hadn't noticed Naruto at all. "Sasuke…" Naruto's voice was weak, but audible.

Sakura could easily tell that Naruto was in poor condition, but what scared her the most was the way he held his arm. The hand, which was visible, looked wrong to her. The flesh was grey. Her eyes were fixed on that hand until she heard him speak. Then she looked up at his face, glancing over the wound in his shoulder as her eyes traveled vertically. Then she turned to Sasuke, to see his response.

'_Naruto…'_ Sasuke couldn't contain himself, he fell to his knees, but no longer held his head with the free hand, instead gripping over his left shoulder, as if searching for something. When Sakura and Naruto made some sound of shock he suddenly lunged out swinging the sword he held in wide arcs, but nowhere near his target, Sakura. Naruto moved and tried to grab Sasuke's arm with his left hand, but Sasuke pulled himself free and made another wild misguided slash that cut nothing. Naruto landed hard on the ground and balanced with his left arm, looking up at Sasuke again, who had gone back to slashing wildly in front of Sakura's face. Now Sasuke spoke though. "I DON'T NEED HIM!! I DON'T NEED HIS POWER!!!! I CAN GET MY REVENGE ON MY OWN!!!!! I HAVE MY STRENGTH, MY OWN STRENGTH, IT DIDN'T COME FROM HIM OR HIS MARK!!!!!!!" But his sword never touched Sakura's face.

Naruto listened to what he said. _'So it's the same old game. Sasuke. Itachi. GRRRRRRRR…' _Naruto reached into his pack, he didn't know what this would do but he had to try. He threw it, and it landed right in front of Sasuke, slightly between him and Sakura.

Sasuke stopped his wild swinging motion to stare down at the object Nauto had thrown. It was a piece cloth with a piece of solid metal bound to it. On the metal plate there was an engraving that vaguely appeared to be a leaf, and through it was a scratch that carved a line horizontally across the plate. It was Sasuke's old abandoned forehead protector. The surface was still clean, and reflected a small amount of life off of itself. Sasuke stared into, and without actually seeing anything, he could see his own reflection. But there was something wrong with his face. It was sullen, even more so then he normally looked, and there were noticeable lines which extended down from either side of his nose. And his eyes, were not the sharingan as Sasuke possessed it, but different, the tomoe transformed into spikes which ran back to the pupil in a spiral pattern. It was the Mangekyo Sharingan. It was his face and yet it was not.

Sasuke's hand flew once more to his head, but he could not get the image out of his mind. He began to swing his sword again, but was paying more attention to his swipes, they were getting closer to Sakura. One slash finally connected, leaving a mild gash across her cheek. She cringed from the pain but didn't move an arm up to defend herself or caress the wound, she simply stared all the more intently at Sasuke. He had stopped, and was now staring at her, and not seeing her.

* * *

'_Where am I? What is this?' Sasuke was standing over two people, huddled in fear. The door to this room opened, and someone entered, someone small. He couldn't control his body. There was a sword in his hands. It descended and killed the two people in front of him. Then light appeared from nowhere, he could see the face of the one who h entered the room. It was him.

* * *

_

Sasuke dropped his sword and hurled himself forward, landing on top of Sakura. She was shocked by this, but even more when she felt his arms reach around her and hold her. Sakura froze. Sasuke began to sob heavily onto her shoulder, and said in something even less then a whisper, "Mother…Father…I'm not…I'm Not…"

Sakura heard him, and some instinct told her what to do. She reached her arms around Sasuke and held him as well, and then she whispered into his ear. "You're not Itachi." She could feel him stiffen to this, so she continued, "You are Sasuke. For some time I may have doubted it, but you are Sauke, my Sasuke-kun." It seemed that Sasuke had come to his senses, he released Sakura from his hold and pulled away from her, beginning to stand. Sakura still had her arms around him though, so he stumbled and caught himself in such a way that his face was above Sakura's. Sakura looked up into his eyes so close, and said "Prove me right Sasuke. Stay. Don't kill us the way your brother murdered your family, don't abandon us as your brother abandoned you. Stay, with us, with me." She too was crying now. Sakura lifted herself up off the floor just enough so that their foreheads came into contact. Sasuke didn't move. So she pulled herself higher, simultaneously pulling him down. Their noses touched. Still he did not move. She gave the final shove, and Kissed Sasuke.

For one brief moment she held Sasuke's face to her own. And then he closed his eyes and fell limp beside her. Sakura felt so odd, but most of all tired. She knew that try as she might, she would be unable to crawl back to the village. I also came to her attention that Naruto had gone unconscious during these events. _'So, we all die together, here in the forests of our home.'_ She fell asleep, content with that belief.

* * *

A/N: NO PANICING!!!! THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE FIC!!!!! THEY ARE NOT DEAD!!!!! Whew, had to avoid the riots that would have broken out if I had let that ending stand by itself. Yes that's right, there is more to this story, and I promise you that all three of our favorite Konoha nin will survive this experience. I'll also tell you that the title of the next chapter is Sacrifices, and let you ponder why. 


	12. Sacrifices

A/N: It's about to get pretty sad, but we are moving away from the action and into the more romance/drama oriented chapters for a little while here. Here's the continued thanks to the alertees (new name for those who put the story on alert): 11. JonJ .12. Nara Shikaku .13. Neon Genesis Fan .14. PaulRap Raptor .15. fmanerd50 I'm writing this for you so I'm happy that you reading.

Reviews: You guys are spot on with your guesses. You wouldn't be spying on me would you? Or maybe you're psychic? GET OUT OF MY MIND!!!!! Oh wait, I still manage to throw in that bit that you guys didn't anticipate. But this is one twist I didn't like typing. Read to find out.

* * *

Chapter 12: Sacrifices 

Sakura was walking slowly through the halls, staring at the ground. The ANBU had found them in the forest and brought them with all swiftness back to the hospital for treatment. Sasuke was in a top security ward, and Naruto… She couldn't stand to think about it. She continued her blind path through the hallways, the only reason she was walking was to clear her head. She walked right on past a set of feet, and stopped.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to bring Hinata here?" Sakura had done this, knowing somehow that whenever Naruto woke up, she was the one he would want to see.

"Was it really necessary to…to…" She let loose more tears, which was hard to believe considering how much she had cried so much.

Even Tsunade shed a tear as she thought about it.

* * *

Naruto couldn't remember ever feeling so groggy. Most of his body was numb to some degree, especially his right side, but he could feel some pressure on his chest and abdomen. He opened his eyes slightly and looked around. He was in a hospital room, and the thing putting pressure on his chest looked to be a mass of long dark violet hair. "Hi…Hinata…ugh." Hinata looked up at him, and he realized she had not been asleep, but had been crying. 

Hinata's tears kept flowing "Naruto…Naruto…They had to…your…Narutooooo" She buried her face once more into Naruto's chest, crying harder then ever. Naruto tried to sit up, but had the sickening sensation of losing his balance when only his left arm pressed to the bed he was in. He suddenly had a sickening attack of clarity and he chose to look down his body at his right side. Despite the fact that Hinata was leaning over him obscuring much of his sight, he could tell what was wrong with him.

Naruto's right arm had been removed.

He yelled out with more angst then he thought possible of himself.

* * *

Tsunade wiped the tear from her face. "We can tell, when he used the shuriken the backlash was much more severe this time from his already serious wounds. It didn't just fracture his arm, it destroyed the cellular makeup. His arm was dead flesh hanging form his body, and it was beginning to have an ill affect on the rest of him. Had we gotten him sooner, before the infection could have spread, we may have been able to spare it from the elbow up, but, there was nothing else we could do. At least he's alive." But inside she knew it wasn't true. Tsunade believed that Naruto would have preferred to have died in combat then have to live the rest of his life like this, unable to be a ninja, unable to be Hokage. 

Sakura tried to wipe away the tears, but they wouldn't stop flowing. "And Sasuke?"

Tsunade answered, "He is still a criminal, but he hasn't shown any hostile actions, nor has he spoken to anyone. We moved him without his protest to a maximum security prison facility. He's fine physically if that's what you mean."

Sakura wanted this conversation to take her thoughts off Naruto, so she continued. "No physical problems at all?' She didn't realize her voice had so much curiosity and worry in it.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "No, none at all. In fact I thought it odd that you and Naruto were able to bring him in unconscious without a scratch on him, and yet both of you were battered and exhausted. Sakura, what aren't you telling me? You've been very vague about this whole situation, the only things we know are that Naruto fought with Orochimaru after you took an unconscious Sasuke away."

Sakura didn't turn to face Tsunade through all of this. "When Naruto and I found him, he was fighting with Orochimaru. And Orochimaru was winning, and he…removed Sasuke's curse seal. Sasuke was knocked out by it and I took him away. When I examined him, he was a mess. Most of his muscles were destroyed. Most of his bones were broken. And he had severe damage to many of his organs."

Tsunade couldn't believe this was possible. "but…did you treat him? No, even with medical ninjutsu that would be impossible."

Sakura's eyes didn't waver from the tile on the ground. "Not medical ninjutsu. Tensei ninjutsu." Sakura began to walk away again, slowly.

Tsunade's eyes were wide with amazement. "How did you survive?"

Sakura continued to walk as she replied. "That's what I need to find out."

* * *

Sasuke didn't speak. They had moved him from the hospital to this cage, and he hadn't said a word. He was awake long before Sakura or Naruto, but didn't say anything. They even tried to use genjutsu to force him to reveal what had happened, he merely turned those away with his eyes, and refused to speak. 

And yet to speak was what he really wanted to do. _'What would I say? What could I say? What would they do? What do I want them to do? What has happened to me?"_ Of course Sasuke was made aware of the fact that his curse mark had disappeared, and he knew that it had something to do with his mental state. _'Was it really that powerful? Have I been under it's influence this whole time?' _His silence would bring no answer, and yet he remained silent. He did not know why, but he had no desire to talk to any of the ANBU that watched over him constantly. So he did not.

* * *

Hinata finally stopped crying, long after Naruto had stopped screaming. But now he was something different. He just stared in a straight line, and all she could do was look at him. She had never seen Naruto like this, and it scared her. Naruto, her shining inspiration, the undefeatable hyperactive ninja who always had so much confidence it reassured everyone around him. And now he was broken. Beaten. His dreams shattered. And she could do nothing. 

The door opened and Tsunade came into the room. Naruto didn't look towards her. She didn't look at Naruto, instead staring at the opposite wall. "Naruto…" He finally looked towards her. "I want my necklace back." The necklace that had hung around the neck of her brother and lover, both of who died with it around them.

Naruto considered this for a moment. 'No." She turned, and gazed down at Naruto, a look of mourning already on her face. "Its still mine, because I'm still alive." Naruto sat up in bed, a difficult thing to do with only his one arm. Once he was more upright, he brought his left hand to his neck where the jewel still hung. He held the object tightly in his fist.

Hinata saw for a moment the same spark of strength she had always loved in Naruto, and was soothed and warmed.

* * *

Ino was just minding the store when Sakura came in. This was perfectly normal in itself, but Sakura had a strange look on her face. She passed up all the flowers and came straight up to Ino. "Ino, I need your help." 

Ino looked a little surprised but let curiosity work its magic. "What with forehead?"

Ignoring her jibe, Sakura told her. "This is gonna sound a little odd, but, I need you to use your Mind Body Switch Jutsu on me." Sakura looked a little to the side as she said this.

Ino was confused now. "Why? Just want to push me off again? I mean that's what's really weird about you Sakura, you're the only one who's ever been able to do that, not even any jonin I've used it on could shake me off."

"That's what I need you to check." Sakura was looking Ino in the eye now, dead serious written all over her face.

"Right now?" Ino was a little scared by all of this, she had never seen Sakura like this.

"Yes, now." Sakura was still serious.

"Ino couldn't explain it, but she knew not to turn her down. She put up her hands, "MIND BODY SWITCH JUTSU." They were so close it only took a moment for her spirit to make the leap. Ino settled into Sakura's mind, and met no resistance. Of course there was the usual token effort to expel her that everyone naturally put forth, but none of the strain on her that had appeared during the chunin exams. She was fully capable of submitting Sakura to her will now. She left Sakura and went back to her own body. "Sakura, what happened?"

"I couldn't repel you could I?" Sakura said it plainly. Ino could only shake her head. "Like I thought. Thank you Ino. Goodbye, I have to go."

Ino just watched her leave, wondering what could possibly have done that to Sakura, and reaching no conclusion.

* * *

Sasuke finally found his voice when she entered the room. "Sakura…" He said it without thinking. It seemed natural to greet her, and yet foreign to be near her at all. 

The ANBU guards around his cell were alert and ready to move, but Sakura waved at them as if saying 'don't bother'. The captain of the four man squad spoke up "Miss Haruno, this prisoner is not allowed guests, I must ask you to leave."

Sakura looked past him straight at Sasuke. "I'm not here to visit. I'm here under special orders from the Hokage to assist in the thus far unsuccessful interrogation of this dangerous criminal."

Sasuke laughed a little internally. He could so easily tell that she was lying, that she was here just to visit him. He wondered if the guards could tell. "Right ma'am, please proceed." Apparently not.

Sakura walked right up to the bars to get a good look at him. They had taken away his sword and gauntlets, the latter of which revealed the tattooed summoning marks, which allowed him to produce shuriken and kunai at will. These contracts had been emptied, and his hands were locked together by solid iron cuffs, specially designed to hold each finger separate to prevent the formation of hand signs. Yet it all seemed so pointless to Sakura, she knew that if he had really felt inclined to, he could escape in an instant. "I thought you weren't talking to anyone. Did that change before or after I came into this room?" She wanted to sound cool and calm, but was aware that it wouldn't matter, Sasuke would already know what she was thinking just from her facial expressions.

Sasuke however was a master at keeping his face rigid and expressionless. It was good for hiding the distress he felt towards answering such a question. _'If I lie, these men will denounce it, so I must at least tell her the truth, but I can always lie within the truth.'_ "I was waiting for someone worth while to talk to, these chumps wouldn't do." _'heh, If I'm going to rock the boat I'll make it a big wave.'_ "Go tell your teacher, I will speak only to her or those directly under her, no one from ANBU will get a word from me, and people like you will only get this speech repeated."

The ANBU were furious, but Sakura understood that that was his goal. _'Sasuke, still as confrontational as ever. Fine then, I'll play your game, lets see who's better.'_ "Well you heard him open up this cage." The ANBU were completely thrown off balance by this. "Don't look at me like this. You've been trying for two days now to get information out of him. Now he gives you plain and simple instruction to follow on how to extract that information and you stand there like idiots? MOVE!"

The masked ninjas looked back and forth, and the captain spoke up. "Ma'am we were given orders to—"

"YEAH WELL I'M GIVING YOU NEW ORDERS BUB!" Sakura was shaking a fist at the captain.

The captain stood firm. "You are trying to give orders to a jonin, miss chunin." He was very snide as he said this.

"Perhaps we can make this easier." It was Sasuke speaking now, he had stood up and walked over to the bars of his cell. "I'll make you a deal, in return for escorting me to the Hokage, I will divulge unto you the name, effective rank, and signature jutsu of Orocimaru's 5 most trusted Sound nin. After which, you will take me directly to the Hokage's office, where I will negotiate a trade, in which I offer the bountiful secrets within my head for certain, freedoms." The head ANBU considered this for a moment, walked over to a desk and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. Sasuke took this as a sign that his offer was accepted, so he listed off the information and watched as the ANBU diligently copied it all down, then pocketed the paper. The guards stood at full attention as the captain moved over and unlocked the cage, pulling the door wide open so that Sasuke could exit. The ANBU surrounded him and led him out of the room.

Sakura followed closely behind. She had no idea how this would turn out, but had a feeling that things would go well.

* * *

Darkness was beginning to encroach on the room, so Hinata turned on the electric lighting. She knew that visiting hours would soon be over. But every extra second she could spend with Naruto was worth it. After Tsunade left Naruto had returned to be silent and stoic. It hurt her that he couldn't say anything to her, but she also understood that he had a great deal of things to think about. The alarm went off on the clock, signaling that she had to leave, so she stood up quietly and began moving towards the door. "Hinata…" When she heard it she spun around to look at him. 

Naruto looked up at her and smiled. He knew it wasn't the same smile he had once worn, but it was genuine. "Hinata, I'm sorry I missed our dinner date at Ichiraku's. I promise I'll make it up to you." He kept his smile up while he chuckled a little at what he had said. Hinata ran over and hugged him tightly, then she loosened her grip and kissed him on the lips. Naruto tried to raise his arms to return this embrace, but only felt his left wrap around her body. _'I'll just have to get used to that.'_ They kissed for long time, then just as suddenly as it had begun Hinata broke it and ran out of the room. Moments after she had left his sight she ran back in and said, "Oh um good night Naruto-kun." And then she ran away again.

Naruto leaned back and lay down in his hospital bed. He reached his left arm up and lightly touched the stump of his right shoulder, recoiling at the stinging pain. _'I sacrificed this for Sasuke, was he worth it? I'll have to find out. But for now I still have Hinata. What about being a ninja, being Hokage? It's over now. But I'll be ok, I think._

'**No, you will not be alright like this Naruto. YOU HAVE DAMNED US BOTH!'

* * *

**

A/N: There was a very clear theme in this chapter, they all three lost something. Naruto, his arm, Sakura, her inner self, and Sasuke, his curse mark and now hes giving up all that information. Next chapter will be up ASAP, and I think you all know that coming from me that means something. Lol..


	13. Character

oA/N: This finishes up the saga of alertee thank yous. 16. greekapino .17. shadowkeepre .18. shinjitheassassin That's 18 more fans the I ever expected to get. Thanks again for reading this thing. This chapter starts up pretty much right where the other one left off, and is the longest chapter I've written thus far. What really makes things long is that I couldn't log in at all yesterday, so I couldn't update to add this chappie. So I wrote another chapter which is going to be loaded onto the site right after this one. That's right two chapters in quick succession. Can you handle it? I think you all can. So get reading.

Reviews: A-Bomb: Thanks.

quintin: Yeah that was, but a second one will be coming up soon.

Dragon: I appreciate that you think this fic is worth speculating over.

Disclaimer: Alas, Naruto doth belongth toth someoneth elseth.

* * *

Chapter 13: Character 

When they reached the Hokage's office, the captain knocked on the door, and heard the quick "enter" that permitted access. When they walked in initially Tsunade was confused, but she saw Sakura enter in last and calmed down. "What's this about Sakura?"

Sakura walked forward a few steps to stand in front of the ANBU and Sasuke. She straightened her stance and spoke in a clear formal tone. "This prisoner has requested a meeting with you to negotiate the terms of his release from custody."

Tsunade had known instantly that this was not the only thing that was happening. Having been master and apprentice, she had long since come to understand Sakura's body language. She was clearly screaming out 'get rid of the ANBU' so Tsunade obliged. "Captain Kyuukutsu, take your men and leave."

The captain was obviously distressed by this. "But, Hokage-sama, it is our duty to—"

"Your duty is to obey my orders, and if you think for a moment I need protection from this boy you clearly have forgotten what it means to carry the title of Hokage. Now leave." Her demeanor had long since become famous. When she told you to leave, it meant you left. So the ANBU turned to follow their captain as he left the room.

"One second captain, I think you should give that paper to the Hokage, certainly it is more important for her then for you." Sasuke said this with his eyes locked onto Tsunade's. The captain turned around and handed a piece of paper to the Hokage then he turned and left with his men.

Tsunade stared at the paper. It listed the name and rank, as well as tactical information on 5 ninja she had never heard of. "What is this?"

It was Sakura who answered her. "This is Sasuke-kun's bargaining chip. That is information on the top ranked sound ninja still loyal to Orochimaru." She was much more comfortable now, Tsunade having done just what she had hoped.

Tsunade glanced from Sakura, to Sasuke, then back down to the paper. "You have such valuable information?" She was ecstatic, such intelligence could finally allow them to crush Orochimaru's underground village.

Sasuke nodded, then said "Yes, but there is a price for what I have to offer. First, I will give detailed information on the location of 18 hidden sound bases. In return, these cuffs will be removed and my weapons returned." Tsunade was about to speak up but he cut her off. "Second, I will reveal the tactical information on an additional 45 of Orochimaru's jonin ranked ninja soldiers. In return for that, I want medical examinations to determine the precise side effects from the removal of the curse seal of heaven." Once again she tried to interrupt him here, but he ignored her and continued, forcing her to be quiet and listen. "Finally, I will reveal the data of each of the forbidden experiments that occurred within my eye or ear range, including the processes behind the creation of many of Orochimaru's drugs, and analysis of each kinjutsu I was aware of. This final piece of information has a higher price." He paused.

Now he doubted the choice he had made in the hallway. He didn't know what would come out of requesting, or even really what he wanted in requesting it. But he couldn't just stand around here looking like an idiot. So he went with it. "The price is, I will be reinstated as a Konoha ninja and placed in a ninja squad accordingly."

Sakura turned around on the spot to stare at Sasuke, with the same expression that Tsunade was giving him. Thy stared for quite a while before he broke the silence with a curt "Well?"

* * *

Naruto was inside his mind, suspended in mid air by the many long tails of the Kyuubi stretching through the bars of his cage and wrapping around him like a cocoon so that he could not move. Of the Kyuubi all he could see beyond the cage was his disembodied moth and eyes, which were large, but not enormous. He clearly looked disappointed. 

'**YOU ARROGANT PRIDEFUL BRAT!!!! Have you any idea what kind of situation you have put yourself in?'**

Naruto thought about this. "Yes, I can no longer be a ninja. That's my situation." Naruto noticed that even inside his own mind his limb was gone.

'**And that is precisely the problem.'**

Naruto didn't want to deal with this right now. "I actually think it's a good fix. I'll never be channeling chakra again, or fighting for that matter, so I'll never be tempted to use you again. You'll stay locked up in here nice and secure—"

The Kyuubi cut Naruto off **'OH is that what you think? Have you forgotten? You are being hunted Naruto, not because of your being a ninja. They will come to you whether you can defend your self or not. Have you forgotten about Akatsuki?!'**

Pure terror swept over Naruto. He had forgotten. Ninja or not, he was still the jinchuuriki to the nine tailed demon fox. Akatsuki would come, and now, he had no hope of ever stopping them.

'**You understand then, that our situation is not so simple. Had you simply done as I told you and unleashed my power you would not be in this position.'**

Naruto knew that was true, but also knew something else. "I made the right choice I know that much. I will never depend on you. I promise you that."

The Kyuubi had one more of his tails slowly reaching out of the cage, approaching Naruto. **'You don't have a choice this time Naruto. For you see, what Akatsuki plans for us beasts, is worse then facing death. So you _will_ continue to rely on me, you _will_ continue to fight, and you _will_ be a ninja still. Because I refuse to be captured by him.'** The Kyuubi's tail's tip was right in front of Naruto's face, then moved and began pointing into the stump of Naruto's shoulder. With a sudden burst of speed the tail dived into the wound.

Naruto was shifted back out into the real world. For one instant, he thought it had been a dream, and that he had not actually met with the Kyuubi. His illusions were dispelled with pain. Naruto was used to pain, but not like this. His whole body lurched as it began, and he gripped a fist into the bed with his left fist. Soon he was thrashing about the small bed, kicking in vain with his legs. Finally he could stand it no more and he cried out in agony. All of this pain was focused in his right shoulder.

Hinata had been walking away from Naruto's room after bolting out of the door so quickly. But now she was frozen by that blood curdling scream. She turned, and ran back to Naruto's room. He was on his bed, wrenching his body into strange positions and yelling out for dear life every few moments. She could see the wound on his shoulder, the bandages had fallen away and something was horribly wrong. His heart monitor showed his heart beat at an incredibly rapid rate. "NARUTO! HANG ON!!" She frantically pressed the emergency call button and awaited the assistance.

A nurse came running into the room and tried to hold Naruto down, but she could not get a firm grip on him. Soon there were more people in the room, and between them Hinata could see something awful happening. Naruto's left hand had become claw like. The dark marks on his face widened and deepened in tint, becoming thick black markings, and his teeth seemed to be growing, especially his fangs. The most horrible thing was his eyes. Usually bright and blue, they had become red. Hinata placed her back against the wall and clutched her hands together beneath her chin.

Suddenly, every hospital worker simply froze, and then almost all together they jumped away from Naruto. A dimly glowing shell of red chakra had formed around most of his body, and then it suddenly coalesced, gathering around his right shoulder. This is where the horror began. The bandages had already been thrown off by some force, making the wound visible. And in it they could see what they could not believe. The muscles were reforming themselves, the bone growing out of them, and new skin growing on top of that.

A sickening noise could be heard throughout the room, somewhere between squishing and ripping, as Naruto's arm was simply regenerating itself. One of the Nurses couldn't handle herself, she vomited into the trashcan, but most of the hospital staff in this room was simply staring at Naruto. Hinata watched, and listened, but the most horrible thing to her was not what appeared to be a miracle, but that Naruto was still screaming, still in pain.

It took 15 minutes. And when it was finally finished, when the tips of Naruto's fingers were clothed once more in skin, he finally stopped screaming. The doctors were still frozen. But Hinata rushed forward to try and help him somehow. His breathing was so faint and quick, but something else was horribly wrong. It appeared to her now, as she leaned over him and held him up in her arms; it looked as if he hadn't eaten months. His ribs stood out plainly against his chest, his cheeks were sunken, and he was lighter then she could remember lifting him. No, he was just as light as he had been without his arm, what had gone into making it had come from out of the other parts of his body.

Hinata couldn't stand being able to do nothing. "HELP HIM!!! FOR GOD'S SAKE SAVE HIM!!! HE'S DYING!!!!" She was crying once again, but her words seemed to work and the doctors ran forward, and after a quick examination yelled out something about intravenous. Someone was pulling at her shoulders, asking her gently to come away. She pushed them off and gripped Naruto all the harder, all the while mumbling "please save him, save him, I need him…I love him"

One of the doctors read trough his case file, and found a special direction to warn the Hokage herself in the event of any unforeseen development. He was fairly confidant this counted, and headed out immediately to find her.

* * *

Sasuke had his hands unbound, and was given a stack of blank paper and a pen just as he had requested. He began writing down the information at a blinding rate. Tsunade had made sure he understood that she had agreed only to his first proposal, and that his weapons would not be returned until an ANBU squad had confirmed the location of the closest base he specified. After the ANBU were gone, he went back to his task. 

Sakura was watching him of course, but her mind was more busy thinking over his last request, and wondering just what it meant. Tsunade was doing almost the exact same thing, but her mind was wrought with worry not with hope. And she wasn't only worried about Sasuke's strange demeanor; instead she had a sickening feeling in her gut regarding Naruto.

Suddenly a knock came to the door, and Tsunade woke from her daze enough to say "ENTER." It was a doctor who came in. He looked haggard and tired, but more then anything terrified. He said nothing, he merely walked forward ad placed something on Tsunade's desk. It was Naruto's case file. Tsunade looked at it for a moment, and let out a whisper "Naruto…" Sasuke stopped for a moment to look up. Sakura jumped to her feet and was about to say something when Tsunade picked up the case file and began to walk out of the room, speaking hurriedly as she did. "Sakura stay here and make sure Sasuke continues to work. Doctor Kougake come with me." She left quietly and quickly with the doctor on her heels.

Sasuke turned and got back to work, while Sakura stared at the door Tsunade had left through. Eventually Sasuke decided o address the situation. "What stupid thing do you think he's done this time?" Sasuke hadn't looked at Sakura during the whole exchange so he could not see her look of worry and grief.

Sakura didn't like what Sasuke had said, and began to cry slightly. When Sasuke heard this he looked up at her, pausing in his work. Sakura continued to cry, but managed to say "Of course, no one told you. When they brought back Naruto…they had to amputate…his arm." It was very difficult to say this, and she realized she had said it in spite towards Sasuke's callousness.

Of course Sasuke was surprised by this. He wondered for a moment if he could be sad over it, but pushed such a thought away, instead feeling a deep anger. _'Damn it Naruto, you ruin everything, what about your... no I don't care about that all I care about is... Without you it is useless.'_ He didn't openly respond to Sakura, instead getting back to work. _'No one can know what I was planning.'_

Now that Sakura had said it she looked back towards Sasuke, a number of questions running through her mind. She chose to voice one. "Sasuke, why do you want to be a Konoha ninja again after all this time? What about…Itachi…?"

Sasuke could not ignore this question. He laid down his pencil and turned to face Sakura. "I don't know. That is why I want the medical examinations first. I can't be sure of my own thoughts right now, I don't know who may or may not be influencing my decisions, and so I need to find out. If something has changed about me, I may change my mind. I will not have other people choosing my path for me. But do not be mistaken. I will still kill Itachi." This excuse seemed to please Sakura, but his true intention ran through his mind. _' Itachi is one of these Akatsuki. I will stay as close to Naruto as possible. Eventually, he will come, and I will be ready. If Naruto's not a ninja, this actually means I won't have to do anything. Just staying here in Konoha will be enough to know where he is at any moment.' _In his mind he said this, but he still had to concentrate. He understood that he actually was sorry for Naruto, and even for a moment thought he would have to push back tears.

* * *

Tsunade just looked. Naruto was asleep in his bed, his condition stabilized by the quick and brilliant work of one his doctors, who realized the problem and found a solution. The best way he could explain it, Naruto's metabolism had suddenly increased to such a point that he could even grow limbs. But it had required a massive amount of chemical energy and biological components, so Naruto was left almost completely drained of fat and muscle stores. It should have taken months to recover his previous physical aptitude, but his body seemed to be responding to this, keeping his metabolism at a slightly heightened rate, so that the rest of his body was slowly recreating the lost tissues. The doctor had seen this, and ordered that Naruto be hooked up to three separate IVs that were keeping him fed, even as he quickly digested everything. The doctor who had done all this spoke up. "I don't know how this is happening, but what I can say is that at this rate, Naruto's muscles will have completely rebuilt themselves in 18 hours. We don't have anything on record even close to this—" 

Tsunade interrupted him "I've seen this kind of thing before, but it's something only I can do. You made the right choices Doctor. Now I need you to do something important. Gather everyone who knew anything about this boy's arm having been removed, everyone who saw it growing back. Take them to the hospital lunch room. GO!" The doctor recoiled and left the room.

Tsunade stared at Naruto. _'It's just like my jutsu, but on a much higher level. To think he could do even that.'_ It was then that Tsunade noticed the other person still in the room. It was the young Hyuga heiress, Hinata. She had always thought it had been a mistake for Sakura to bring her here in the first place, but now she was certain. She walked over and put a hand on the young woman's shoulder, and Hinata looked up to face the Hokage. "What do you know about Naruto and his special situation?"

Hinata turned away a little, but answered. "The…Kyuubi." She was crying again.

Tsunade nodded internally. "So you know. What you see here is a result of that unique trait." She could see and feel the girl cringing beneath her. "And has he mentioned Akatsuki to you?" Hinata shook her head lightly from side to side. "They are a group that means to hunt down and kill all the people with Naruto's…affliction. They will not stop, and they will kill anyone who is close to him to succeed." Tsunade wanted to scare this poor young woman away. To make her far too frightened of any kind of connection with Naruto to continue it. She knew that this last part would make it so. "And has he told you that at times, the demon's power grows too great, and Naruto is taken over by it, turned into a monster himself that seeks to destroy everything around it." It killed Tsunade to be doing this, she desperately wanted Naruto to be happy above all else. But not at the expense of this innocent young woman, not if it meant so many dangers had to be heaved onto her shoulders.

Hinata looked up at the Hokage. And then she got angry. "It doesn't matter. I stay, no matter what." Even when adamant her voice was gentle. Yet it carried with it such strength that Tsunade had to back away and size her up from a distance. Hinata just glared at her, looking as determined as she could.

Tsunade had a mixed feeling of pride and joy, fear and grief for this young woman. She let the prior dominate her thinking. "Come with me Hinata, I need to tell everyone in the lunch room something. Hinata could sense some sign of approval in the Hokage's voice so she stood and followed her out of the room, glancing back at the unconscious Naruto only once.

A/N: Get going to the next chapter.


	14. Intent

A/N: Well because the log in as messed up this chapter is going up pretty quickly. Anyway this time I'm giving a special thank you to the 2 new C2s that have added my story to them. Thank you so much for the exposure and for reading. those c2s are 1. A Collection of Naruto Stories and 2. Epic Naruto Tales. Thanks again.

Reviews: There are no reviews for the previous chapter yet.

Disclaimer: Me no own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 14: Intent

Tsunade arrived in the lunchroom with Hinata and surveyed the staff that had been called. It was fewer then she expected, so she spoke out above the murmurs of curiosity. "Is there any doubt? I need to know that everyone who was involved at any level with the treatment of Naruto Uzumaki is in this room." There were nods, and no one spoke up, so she assumed it was true. "Very well then. This comes as a direct order from the Hokage. All of you are hereby placed under an oath of silence over this whole affair, and any records that in any way suggest that Naruto Uzumaki's arm was ever removed are to be burned as soon as possible after you are released. If any of you so much as mention in passing this event, you will be tried as a traitor against the fire country. That is all. Dismissed." Tsunade turned and walked out of the room, Hinata still following her. As they walked she made sure to mention to Hinata "This applies to you as well. No one is ever to know that this happened. It's for Naruto's protection."

Hinata thought about it, and realized the Hokage was right, so she nodded and continued to follow her. She didn't know if she was still required to follow, but it just seemed like a good idea right now. They didn't go back to Naruto's room. In fact they left the Hospital altogether. She continued to follow behind Tsunade as they walked through the nighttime roads of Konoha, until they came to the Hokage's office building. They went straight to the Hokage's office, and inside Hinata was surprised to see Sakura. But she was completely dumbfounded to see Sasuke. She stopped at the door way, confused as to what to do.

Tsunade scanned her office for any notable change since her departure earlier. All that was different was the large stack of papers that had been filled out by Sasuke. She decided to get right to business. "Hinata, come in." Hinata did as she asked, closing the door behind her. "Hinata, I trust you recognize Sasuke Uchiha. You are one of very few people aware that he is here in Kohonagakure, not even the council knows. But that is not why I brought you here. In fact the only reason I brought you here is to make sure you didn't go back to Naruto's room, because your presence would not help him recover, and visiting hours are over. You should go home when we are done here." Tsunade motioned for Hinata to take a seat, and she did.

Tsunade took a deep breath. Sasuke continued to toil away, while Sakura had her eyes fixed on her sensei. "There have been some new developments with Naruto. Sasuke, I'm not sure if you were aware or not but after his battle with Orochimaru, his right arm had received heavy injury, and had to be removed." Sasuke made no motion to confirm or deny his awareness. Tsunade continued. "The new development that I spoke of is this. Naruto's arm has regenerated itself, through a yet unclassified process." She had to silence Sakura quickly, and her apprentice understood and remained quiet. "This has greatly taxed his body, and he is now unconscious, but receiving intensive care. I have chosen to keep this matter strictly confidential, for Naruto's benefit. It has taken him many years to shake off the title of 'demon' which many people attributed to him; I would not want this incident rekindling old fears and prejudices. As such, I am asking that none of you ever speak a word of this incident again. Do I have your words?"

Sakura responded quickly "Yes! But—"

"No 'buts'. It is a simple yes or no." Tsunade was adamant.

Sakura was taken aback. "Yes."

Now Tsunade turned to Sasuke, who had been working this entire time without even the slightest acknowledgement of company. He could feel her stare, so he paused in his scribing. "Of course."

She felt relieved, and ordered that Sakura and Hinata get going, as it was getting late. It was more difficult to get Sakura out of her office, but eventually the young kunoichi relented. Now she was alone with Sasuke. Tsunade walked over to her desk and sat at her chair, while Sasuke merely continued his work. "How much have you completed?"

He ignored her for a moment, but continued to write. Then he put down the pen, stacked the papers together, got up and placed them on Tsunade's desk. "Done" He let a small, patronizing grin across his face as he looked at her mild surprise.

Tsunade looked through the papers, and wondered what do now. She had hoped it would take longer to fill this all out. "Even the kinjutsu reports?"

"Yes"

"So then, you are sure of what you asked for?"

"Not quite." He had her attention now. "From your mention earlier of Naruto's miraculous recovery, I have decided to include an additional requirement. I will not only be reinstated as a ninja, I will be assigned to the same squad as Naruto Uzumaki." He had dropped the bombshell.

Tsunade thought hard for a moment. She wasn't stupid, it only took her a moment before she made the mental leaps required to link the ideas. "Don't think of me a fool. You may be able to convince them that you have truly changed or the better. That you have returned to, well from what I hear you were never all that friendly. But I am not convinced. You are here for one reason aren't you? Your brother. And you know he is after Naruto." Tsunade looked at him with a stare that promised death. "I have to consider, what your loyalties will be after you succeed. On the day you kill your brother, when you no longer need Naruto as bait. What will you do then?"

'_Bravo Hokage. Hmm why just keep my thoughts to myself?' _"Bravo Hokage, you have seen through the lies and asked the important question. I guess I should answer. The answer is, I don't know." She was not pleased with this response. "I really don't know. I have never considered anything in my life after his demise. I wonder, will I even be the same person anymore? Is it even possible for me to continue existing without that goal? So in all honesty I don't know. What do you think, Tsunade? And what will you decide to do with me?"

She considered this for a long time.

After she voiced her decision she ordered an ANBU squad to take him back to his holding cell. He showed no sign of dissapointment.

* * *

The doctor had been brilliant with his analysis of Naruto's situation. But he was dead wrong, far from the 18 hours had initially suspected would be needed for Naruto to recover, he managed in 9. His eyes shot open, and he bolted up right in the bed. His heart was pounding. He moved his arm. _His right arm._ He lifted it up and even in the predawn hours he could see it clearly enough. He wiggled the individual fingers, and even lifted them together to channel some chakra. He had his arm, and it worked perfectly.

The Kyuubi spoke into his mind. **'Foolish medics, remove these contraption, you no longer need them.'** Naruto was completely horrified, the Kyuubi had never spoken directly to him without first drawing him into his mind. There were the occasional individual comments, but always when they came they came with the distinctive sense that he was beginning to fall back into his mind. Sometimes he could resist after these comments, and they would stop. Something had changed in the Kyuubi. **'If you would prefer'**

Naruto sank into his mind, and within he could see the Kyuubi, this time the size of a normal fox, sitting right in front of him, his tails snaked backwards around his cage's bars. **'They underestimated you Naruto, believed your recovery would take twice as long as it did. You will need to remove those devices or you will get much sicker. Don't give me that look, you should be grateful to me.'** Naruto just glared at the demon. **'I have restored your arm, and with it your hopes and dreams.'**

"Don't give me that. You're just saving yourself."

'**Of course, that too. But something else that is of benefit to me has occurred through this turn of events. Can't you see it? Take a look around.' **The Kyuubi waited while Naruto looked around the room. The demon smiled wide when he saw Naruto's eyes open wide with horror when they looked above and behind the small fox. **'Yes, you see it don't you. That is why I can speak to you without bringing you here now.'**

Naruto was looking at the seal that held the gate closed. The upper left hand corner, the corner that had been slightly pulled off before, had now been pulled so that a full inch hung loose, removed from the surface it adhered to.

'**My intervention has helped us both in many ways, some which you will have to discover on your own. Good bye Naruto.'**

Naruto was thrown back out into the real world. **'But its not really good bye. Remember to remove hose needles'** Naruto pulled the three IVs from his body, then pulled his sheets up to his neck and turned to the side on the bed. He tried to sleep, but he could hear the Kyuubi laughing in the back of his mind.

* * *

Sunrise came as any other day. It shone through windows, and signaled to many the beginning of their day off. It was Saturday. Hinata woke up with the sun, and hurried throughout her house to get showered, dressed, and then ran towards the front gate of the compound when her worst nightmare appeared before her. "Hinata, I wish to speak with you. Come." Hiashi walked away, and Hinata followed.

He led her to an empty room, and sat on the floor. Hinata sat across from him, facing him. "Where have you disappeared to these days that not even Neji, whom I knew to be overseeing your training, has inquired as to your whereabouts?"

It was the worse thing that could ever have happened. But Hinata could not refuse o give him an answer. She chose to lie. "I have been training with my teammates, I forgot to tell Neji. I'm sor—"

"You dishonor me first with your weakness, and now with your dishonesty to your own father?" He cut her off and was obviously cross with her.

Hinata shrunk away form her father. And then she recovered her posture, and felt an enflamed sense of confidence. Perhaps as a result of having spent so much time with Naruto, or maybe after finally getting fed up with her father's obsession with his honor, she finally snapped. "Would it disgrace you more to know that your daughter lies to you or to know that she has known the touch of a man?"

Hiashi's white Hyuga eyes opened wide, and he stared at his daughter. What he had just heard had been said not in the gentle, whispered and shy voice of his firstborn, but in a strong and even hateful voice. He tried desperately to find a response to her query. "What?" was all he could think of.

Hinata stood up, another rude gesture before her father. "I will leave now. Good bye Father." A flat refusal to answer him, and the bow she gave as she left was laughable, if it even counted as a bow. When she was gone she felt as if a burden had been lifted off her shoulders. _'Let him be furious. I can deal with that later. All I care about is going to see Naruto.'

* * *

_

A/N: Well now, I must say GO HINATA!


	15. Homecoming

A/N: The Romance is getting back into gear. My special call out is for the newest C2 to add my little masterpiece. It's called My Favorite NaruHina's. Thanks for adding me but now I feel a little ashamed for writing this chapter cause it focuses way more on the second pair that will be developing. Oh well there is still a strong NaruHina element that will be developed further in the future. But this chapter and the next few will be way more SasuSaku in design.

Reviews:

adngo: HELL YES GO HINATA!!!! And don't you fret that wasn't a one time thing, Hinata's family will get more focus into later on.

Dragon: Just because something's smaller, doesn't mean it's weaker. I just like the theme that Kyuubi's form is slightly different each time Naruto goes in there, and altering his size is one of the easiest ways of doing that.

Disclaimer: I'm tired of writing this thing in so it's the last time I'm going to. I hereby say that I do not and never will own Naruto.

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Chapter 15: Homecoming 

Sakura and Hinata walked through the halls of the hospital, heading towards Naruto's room. On the way Hinata decided to address something that had been bothering her. "Sakura, about what happened the other night, when you walked in on me and Naruto—"

Sakura cut her off. "I'm happy for you." Hinata made a small sound of surprise. "And Naruto. You really deserve each other, and I was just being petty. Besides, I never would have really gone out with Naruto, I was just jealous that all. And another thing, if you can put up with all his ridiculous tendencies then you'd have a very unique ability." Sakura had a smile on her face by the time she finished her statement. It was completely true.

Hinata smiled too, and nodded. "Thank you Sakura. And I'm sure you'll find someone too." Sakura nodded, and hid her hopes that the man who would truly love her was already here in Konoha, only in a prison cell.

They walked into Naruto's room and found him arguing with a doctor. The doctor wanted to know why Naruto had removed his IVs without consulting the medical staff first, and Naruto was yelling back about how if he hadn't he would have gotten really sick, so why did it matter? Sakura told them both to shut up and gave the doctor such an angry look he ran from the room in fear. Hinata was already fawning over Naruto, so Sakura just sat back. After Hinata's near endless questions of "how are you?" and "are you comfortable?' Sakura decided to ask the big question. "Naruto, how did you get your arm back?"

He was uncertain how to respond. So he acted with the truth. "The Kyuubi…grew it back for me. He made sure I can still defend myself. It looks like he doesn't want to get caught by Akatsuki either."

Sakura remembered Hinata, and she didn't know if Hinata knew about the demon or not. "Hinata has Naruto told you about all this?"

Hinata nodded, "I heard some of it from Hokage-sama." She saw Naruto looking worried, so she reassured him by grabbing his hand, his right hand, and squeezing it firmly. _'I'm not going anywhere.'

* * *

_

Sasuke woke up in his cell and looked to his side. Standing out side it, along with the ANBU, was the Godaime Hokage herself. And in her hands was a Chokuto (Straight bladed hiltless Japanese sword. That's what wikipedia says Sasuke's sword is) in its sheath. He also noticed that the cage door was open. Sasuke stood and walked forward to face the Hokage. She drew a key and unlocked Sasuke's cuffs, then handed him the sword. Sasuke bowed lightly, and then noticed she had pulled something else out of her pocket to hand to him. It was his old forehead protector, still marred with the scratch of Naruto's claws. As he picked up the item, she said to him "You may want to get that replaced; the mark is damaged after all."

Sasuke stared down at the symbolic item, and then he gripped it and said, "Not yet. Not until I earn it back. Until then, this is the mark on my soul." Tsunade nodded at his words, and began to leave motioning for him to follow.

As they walked out of the prison facility she turned to face him once again. "You are free as you asked. I suggest you go to the hospital, and take this." She handed him the orders for his medical examinations. "It will get you through. Also, you may want to know that your teammate is currently staying in room 213. You can go see him if you wish." She turned and walked away to go and confront the council, who would have been informed of her decision, and would demand an explanation.

Sasuke arrived at the hospital. He had walked the whole distance, and on the way he could see them out of his peripheral vision. The stares, the looks. He even walked past people he recognized as Shikamaru and Chouji, and no one could say anything. Now he walked right past the hospital staff, ignoring everybody and garnering nothing but shocked gasps. He moved through the building and right into room 213. And then he saw them.

Sakura froze, Naruto gasped, and Hinata squeaked shyly as she turned after seeing Naruto react to something. The silence was palpable. Sasuke walked forward and sat beside the bed, opposite of Hinata. Their eyes followed him the entire way. Once he was sitting, he just looked back into Naruto's eyes. "Naruto," If there was something even more quite then silence, this room had reached it. "That last fight, at the Valley of the End, doesn't count." Naruto looked slightly confused. "I was under Orochimaru's spell, and you were being manipulated by the Kyuubi. So it doesn't count. Which means you still owe me a fight, remember, I want to fight you, most of all."

Naruto stared at him for a moment, and then smiled. "Right. As soon as I'm out of this hospital, we can finally find out who is stronger." 3 years of depression and tension melted away, Sasuke smiled at Naruto, and nodded in conformation. He then promptly stood up and left the room, leaving the air of silence behind him as he went.

Sasuke left Naruto's room and went straight for the main desk, where he handed in the paper from Tsunade. The response was almost immediate, with a doctor coming and escorting Sasuke to begin the tests. Blood sample, Urine Sample, CAT scan, MRI, X-Rays, and then a pat on the back and a paper that said they would need two weeks to finish the tests they wanted to run.

So Sasuke left the hospital, and realized that he had no home in this village, and no money to buy or rent anything he could use as one. _'Great'_ Sasuke resolved himself to walking around town and seeing what happened. In all honesty, he felt a strange sense of nostalgia at being back in Konohagakure. Everywhere he walked he could point out landmarks from his childhood. And there were plenty of familiar faces, some he was not so excited to see.

Ino spotted him and didn't immediately recognize him, but after a few moments it dawned on her that she was looking at Sasuke Uchiha, THE Sasuke Uchiha, returned to Konoha after all these years. "SASUKE?! IS THAT YOU?!" He turned and looked at her, sneered and started walking away again. _'Definitely Sasuke.'_ Ino ran to catch up with him and started walking next to him. "What happened I thought you…defected?" She said the last word with additional emphasis and a hushed voice.

Sasuke didn't want to talk to her. After all the time he still had no desire to be friendly with most any of his peers. But ignoring her wouldn't get rid of her. "I had business to take care of. Now I'm back."

Ino was ecstatic. "How many people know about your return? Is it some big secret? No of course not or you wouldn't just be wandering around town I the open. What was this business? Were you like a spy? Was it actually a mission? Did you…"

Sasuke couldn't stand it, she just wouldn't shut up. He finally got fed up and interrupted her to say "Whoever you are (He did remember her name but thought this would get rid of her faster) could you shut up and go away? I'm far to busy looking for somewhere to stay to give a damn about your string of questions, none of which I plan on answering." That did it, Ino just stopped and disappeared behind Sasuke.

She decided to stop talking to him after he had shown his disdain, but that didn't stop her from talking. Ino was interwoven into the gossip channels of Konoha. Within an hour, the news of Sasuke's return had spread everywhere in the village. As gossip tends to do, the stories were wild and exaggerated. Tales of how Sasuke fearlessly left the village attacking the Konoha ninja, simply to gain Orochimarus trust and betray him when the time was right. Fables of how he truly had joined Orochimaru, but the Sannin grew tired of Sasuke and tried to kill him, only for Sasuke to defect from him and rejoin Konoha for protection. Sasuke heard them in passing, and saw from the corners of is eyes how people would be talking fervently, and suddenly stop to point at him and shout "HIM ITS HIM!!!" Sasuke smiled, _'let them weave their legends, only a few would know the truth.'

* * *

_

In his wanderings Sasuke found himself outside what he knew to be Sakura's house. He had come here, when he sought to draw Orochimaru into the open, not knowing it had been Sakura's home. He realized that only after seeing her looking out the window. And then Orochimaru appeared, as if on cue. _'How had I known Orochimaru would look for me here? Or was it truly I who had fallen into his trap, and come right where he wanted me?'_

After fighting against Orochimaru, and successfully fending off the Living Corpse Reanimation Jutsu, Sasuke began to walk away from the dying serpent. Kabuto had ruined everything by entering, meeting eyes with the dying monster, and falling into that dimension. What emerged was not Orochimaru though, he had been to weak to fully submerge Kabuto in his will. Sasuke escaped then, bursting out of the lair and fleeing. He could not have fought Orochimaru again then, weakened as he ahd been from the earlier scuffle. As it turned out even when at full strength he had been unable to defeat him.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke was dragged out of his thoughts by Sakura, who had just turned a corner and was staring at him. She looked a little surprised and timid. But she shook those off at walked towards him. She hadn't been able to say anything to him earlier, but she wanted to now. "I'm glad…That you've finally come back Sasuke-kun. It's wonderful to have you back."

Sasuke just looked at her. _'How do I respond?' _"Yes Sakura, it's nice being home." He hadn't even thought to say that, but somehow it was true. He really felt like he was home, and it wasn't just this village, it was being here with Sakura. _'What am I thinking?'_

Sakura merely took his words at face value, and twitched with the bag of groceries in her hand. She suddenly had a great idea. "Sasuke-kun, would you like to come in for tea?" Sasuke looked at her again, and nodded.

Inside the building, any sense of homecoming was dispelled. There was carpet. The walls were light blue in color. There were windows. There were lamps. There was a sofa with uncomfortably soft cushions. All of these things were making Sasuke feel out of place and foreign in this place. He thought of what had been home to him for the past three years. Caves. Stone. Torches. Strange labs. None of that would constitute a traditional home. No it had never been home, just a base of operations, a training ground. It was pointless to waste time thinking about those hovels. But this frilly colorful and soft place could not be home either. So where was his home?

Sakura entered the room with tea. Sasuke was sitting on one of the sofas, which had a coffee table in front of it and another sofa on the other side of the table so that they faced each other. She placed the tea on the coffee table and sat in the sofa across the table from Sasuke. She stared into her cup and Sasuke did the same with his own. Neither drank. Neither spoke.

Sasuke reached down and sipped from his glass. The noise caused Sakura to jump a little. She realized with another jump that she was blushing, as she reached for her own glass and started to sip out of it, hoping to hide her face behind the cup. After she had sipped a little and calmed down, she placed her tea back on the table and looked at Sasuke. He was staring at her. He had been watching her the entire time, but as she looked at him she couldn't really tell what was going through his face. His face was just blank, as if he was thinking absolutely nothing, or worse, thinking of how to defeat her, as if this were combat. She hated that look he gave people. It was one of her goals from when she was younger. She would tell herself, _'I'll get him to look at me with a face that says 'I want you Sakura''_ But he never had. Sakura believed she had given up on Sasuke. But had she?

The silence was getting on Sasuke's nerves for some reason, so he broke it. "Sakura, Thank you."

A memory drifted through Sakura's mind when he said this. "That was what you said that day. The day you left." Tears began to form in her eyes as she thought about it. "Why did you say that? I could never figure that out."

Sasuke was caught off guard by this, and searched his own memories for that moment. He remembered it clearly. She had begged him to stay. Then she had begged him to take her with him, ready to betray her village for him. His response was to get behind her, thank her, and knock her out. The last words he would say to her for almost three years. He had almost forgotten it. But now it stood out in his mind, and he tried to remember why he had said it. He found the memory of his motives. "I couldn't have taken you with me, Orochimaru would have killed you. I couldn't stay behind, because I needed the power. And I couldn't return your feelings. Yet I felt gratitude towards you. Because of all the people, you were the only one that made it hard to leave, that truly made me doubt my choice. For that I was grateful, but it didn't change a thing."

Sakura didn't know how to respond. The tears in her eyes were getting heavier and she didn't know why. Sasuke spoke again. "I was conscious the entire time you know. When you treated me." Sakura couldn't move. "Was it true? What you said?"

Sakura was shivering with her nervousness. "Yes."

Sasuke responded immediately. "Why? After everything I've done and everything I've become, why still?"

Sakura was still shaking, and her heart was beating faster. "Because…because…you're still…You're still Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke still didn't understand. "What is it about me. That no matter how hard I push you away you just hold on?"

Sakura considered this, and found a reason she had never really been consciously aware of. "Because you pushed everyone away. You never tried to be friendly, or to bond with anyone. When I looked at you, you were all alone. And I wanted to be there for you. To be your bond. I wanted you to be happy like the rest of us, with the rest of us, with me." The tears were finally rolling down her cheeks, and she realized they were tears of happiness. "And now I have you back."

Sasuke felt something wrong with him. A strange sensation was developing in his gut and heart. He felt a need to reply. "Yes, I am back."

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A/N: How shweet. 


	16. Dillema

A/N: It's getting close, can't you feel it? I bet everyone of yur guys lemon sense is tingling like crazy. Anyway I've decided that this chapter is personally dedicated to the freaking site, that's right this one is for you. Thanks for being a great host for my ramblings.

P.S.A/N: Sasuke will be a little OOC in this fic, and I apologize to the diehards. I will have a sort of 'in lore' explanation for his slightly altered personality, but I would still prefer to have written him closer to the origional. Unfortuanately in my opinion the origional would never have returned to Konoha, or if he had would have been just as emotionless in his dealings with the place. I'm also anouncing that if I choose to include the other sound nin that are showing up in te manga, tey will have drastically different roles. But hey this is fan fiction so get off my back. Or flame me, that works too.

Reviews: Alright, I knew I was making it very obvious that Naruto's arm would come back. Bu come on. He's freaking Naruto! You can't have a Naruto Fan fic without Naruto! Can you? I shouldtry that. Anyway whatever, you'll understand later that there is something quite unique about that arm. OH DAMN IT!!! Yur not supposed to know about that. But its to late. I can't remove that statement. Wait backspace? What's backspace?

adngo-dragon-fmanerd-paul: HELL YEAH GO HINATA!!!!!

Disclaimer: No NO resist the paranoia. You don't need to tell them you don't own Naruto. I mean you don't but…DAMN!

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Chapter 16: Dilemma 

They didn't say much after that, and once the tea was drained from their glasses Sasuke left to go look for a place to stay. He had not told this to Sakura, he had an instinct that told him she would offer up her home and he wanted to avoid that. Yet simultaneously he knew, _knew_ that had she offered he would have accepted. He wandered the streets again passing by his old apartment long enough to confirm that it was owned by someone else. His wanderings continued for several hours, so that the sun had set and people were beginning to fill restaurants or go home for the evening. He passed by an open face Ramen bar, and as he did so someone yelled out his name.

Sasuke turned and saw a gathering. The one waving and yelling was one blonde ninja in an orange and black jumpsuit. Sitting next to him to either side were a purple and pink haired kunoichi. Sasuke attempted to pretend that he had not seen or heard them, but to no avail. Naruto had jumped out of his seat and ran up to him. "Hey…Sasuke. Wanna join us? We need to celebrate your return! I'll pay!!"

What could he do? He didn't audibly reply, instead just walking over and sitting next to Hinata, as far from Sakura as he could get. Hinata looked a little nervous beside him. Sasuke decided he might as well order, so he got some ramen and started eating. He had to admit it was better then anything he had eaten for 3 years. Naruto finished fast and began speaking. Sasuke almost missed what he said. "So, Sasuke, I heard that you have been assigned to our squad."

Sasuke considered this and replied, "Yes."

Sakura was surprised by this, she hadn't been told yet. "I didn't know about that. I guess that they have removed Yamato and Sai from the active roster. All we need is a Jonin to get back to missions."

Sasuke spoke up at this, "Neither of you are Jonin yet? And what about Hinata, she's in the squad isn't she?"

Naruto sort of hung his head as he said the first part, but hearing the second part he cut into the conversation. "Hinata's not on our squad. What gave you that idea?"

Sasuke looked up a bit. "I just assumed from the fact that she has been there with you two whenever I saw you."

Hinata was showing a blush. She knew what was coming next. Even Naruto was looking a little shy about saying it out in the open. Sakura was the one who had to tell him. "Hinata and Naruto are going out." Hinata hid the blush on her face with her hands and Naruto gave a half smile of embarrassment. Sakura continued to address the earlier questions. "Anyway I'm just a Chunin; Tsunade-sensei hasn't seen fit to promote me yet…" Sasuke interpreted this as she wasn't strong enough. Sakura continued, "…and for that matter Naruto is still technically a Genin." Sakura was smiling devilishly at Naruto, who looked very angry but was trying not to show it.

Sasuke couldn't really help himself. He just let out one short laugh. As soon as he did he regretted it though, as the eyes of his companions latched onto him with looks of shock. He wondered if a laugh had always been so rare from him. Then he saw a smile developing on Naruto's face. And Naruto began to speak. "Well, not only did I find out that Sasuke is on our squad Sakura, but I also had a chance to look at the official Ninja file and…" Naruto paused to inhale and for dramatic effect. "SASUKE UCHIHA, RANK: GENIN!!!!!!"

Sasuke couldn't hide it; he was more then a little disappointed. "I think I more then qualify as a Jonin, what is the meaning of this?"

Sakura shrugged her shoulders and answered him "It's apparently one of the bylaws in the ninja society; you can't be promoted to Jonin or even Tokubetsu Jonin without already possessing the rank of Chunin. That's why Naruto plans on participating in the next Chunin exams. Say, you should think about doing that too Sasuke. You'd pass for sure."

Naruto was more then a little hurt by her remark. "What about me Sakura-chan, don't you think I would pass too?"

Sakura put on her 'be mean to Naruto' face and said "Maybe, if you were lucky."

Hinata finally broke from her silence to say. "Of course you'll pass Naruto-kun, I just know it."

Naruto was so happy to hear this he hugged Hinata and said "Thank you Hinata-chan, It's nice to know SOMEONE believes in me." Hinata was of course blushing madly.

Sasuke stood up and began to walk away, having finished his meal. Sakura spoke up. "Where are you going Sasuke-kun?"

He froze, he couldn't in all honesty answer her, but to his horror Naruto asked the question he dreaded. "That's right, you don't have anywhere to stay do you?" Sasuke tensed as he heard this. It was true, and for some reason, embarrassing.

Sasuke could hear Sakura inhaling to offer what he could not accept, when thankfully Naruto chimed in again. "I bet Hinata could set you up with one of the houses at her mansion eh Hinata-chan?"

Hinata looked down at her hands, blushing and frowning. "I couldn't ask such a thing of my father. Sorry."

'_Damn'_ Sasuke had found that substitute acceptable.

He could hear Sakura inhaling again to speak, thankfully Naruto interrupted her again, "Well he can't stay with me."

'_God damn it' Naruto's_ apartment would be a far cry from pleasant, but at least he wouldn't be sleeping in the same house as Sakura and her parents.

Sakura was inhaling again, and Sasuke could only hope that some miracle would interrupt her again. No such luck. "He could stay with me. I have my own house after all Naruto."

Naruto scratched his head. "Oh yeah…I forgot you moved out of your parents place."

This caught Sasuke by surprise, he hadn't expected it. Sasuke turned around to look at the group. Sakura was looking at him, so obviously hoping that he would accept her offer that for a moment he didn't want to turn her down. Then it got a lot longer then a moment. "Yeah, that'll be fine." _'I must be going insane, to have accepted this.'_ Sakura looked pleased with herself, Hinata looked genuinely nonchalant, and Naruto had a strange grin on his face.

Because of his choice, Sasuke had to wait for Sakura to finish her meal. Before she was done however Naruto stood up and tugged on Sasuke's clothing, saying "C'mon we gotta talk, guy stuff." Sasuke didn't know what this was about but he didn't feel confrontational, so he followed Naruto to the other side of the street where Naruto led him. Naruto also had his arm over Sasuke's back, making this a very awkward position for him. "Back one day and already putting the moves on Sakura eh?"

Sasuke was completely dumbfounded. He could not think to respond and Naruto could obviously see his distress. "You ok Sasuke; I mean c'mon were like 16 now it's natural to think about that kind of stuff. It's also natural to…act on those thoughts."

Sasuke couldn't listen to this anymore. "Naruto, shut up. I really don't need you to talk to me about this kind of stuff."

Naruto snapped back at him "Well if Sex education was a part of Orochimaru's teachings then I'll be on my way right now."

Of course they weren't. "Well it's not like you had to get sat down and told all this crud."

Naruto laughed a little, "You never really got to know my teacher. The short answer is yes in fact I did. And let me tell you what he told me: it's a good idea to have one of these." Naruto produced a condom and tried to hand it to Sasuke, who immediately denied the 'gift'.

"Get that out of my face." Sasuke was pulling away, trying to leave this very awkward situation.

Naruto pulled him back down in a hushed voice "Listen you moron." This got Sasuke's attention rather well. "If you think for one second that Sakura isn't crazy for you then you're dead wrong. And if you don't make some kind of move on her, I guarantee, _guarantee _that she will make a move on you. And if you finally decide to return her affections, yur gonna want this." With one final shove he pushed the object into Sasuke's hand and walked away.

Sasuke considered it the first time he had ever heard Naruto speak anything intelligent that lasted for more then 3 seconds. He then remembered what was in his hand and sealed it away in a concealed pocket and walked back over to the bar, where Sakura was finishing her meal up. When she was done she stood up and started walking towards her home, and Sasuke followed silently.

Once they were gone Hinata turned to Naruto and asked "What did you talk to him about?"

Naruto replied "Guy stuff."

"Naruto?" Hinata was curious, and worried about what Guy stuff might entail.

Naruto wanted to drop it. "Nothing ok Hinata, anyway do you think your family will notice if you don't go home tonight?"

Hinata was instantly aware of what Naruto had in mind, and was reminded of how she had left her home earlier that day. She related it to wearing a billboard on her back that said 'I'M SLEEPING WITH SOMEONE!!!!' For the second time today, she didn't care. "I don't think so Naruto. Lets go." Naruto smiled, grabbed her hand and started to walk towards his home.

Heading in the other direction Sasuke followed a good three paces behind Sakura, so he couldn't see the look on Sakura's face. A very hopeful look, that would have proven Naruto right instantly.

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A/N: Sorry about the shorter chapter, I got a little paranoid after MSword crashed on me (THANK YOU RESTORE FEATURE) so I posted it early. Anyway its really close now. Lemon sense is off the charts. And BTW, is just saying that sounding kind of perverse? LOL. 


	17. Hold

A/N: Not yet. But soon. Like next chapter soon.

Reviews:

RasenganFin: Thanks for starting to read and giving all those reviews, glad you like the tale.

RasenganRendan: You two wouldn't be related would you? Lol. Anyway I might pop over to R&R yur fic, but keeping up this rigorous update speed has been tough. I'll try.

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Chapter 17: Hold 

Sasuke was now back in Sakura's house, now aware that he would be with her through the entire night alone. He sat down on the couch where he had been earlier that very day, and she took the same seat opposite him. It was very quiet.

Sakura sundered the silence. "What did Naruto want to talk to you about?"

Sasuke cringed as he thought about it. "Nothing, just Naruto being idiotic." A blatant lie.

Sakura nodded, and they sunk back into the quiet. Sakura abruptly stated that she was going to bed, and she left the room traveling into the parts of the house Sasuke was unfamiliar with. He turned out the lights and lay down on the couch. It was far too soft for his tastes, but it would have to do.

Time passed, and Sasuke stared at the ceiling organizing his thoughts. In the darkness he heard movement, and was alert. The source of the disturbance was approaching him slowly, and Sasuke prepared to defend himself with only the tiniest shift in his position. The assassin paused at Sasuke's side, and Sasuke opened his eyes and moved up to strike, stopping when he realized it was Sakura, standing over him in a night gown. "Sakura, what do you want." _'Stupid question, you already know the answer.'_

Sakura looked down at him for few seconds. She then dropped to her knees so she was almost level with him. She began to lean forward, pressing her lips together and closing her eyes. Sasuke turned his face to the side, so instead of his lips she kissed only his cheek. Sasuke reached out an arm and pushed her away from him. Sakura responded by grabbing his arm and bringing it up to her face. She then began rubbing her cheek into his hand, still holding it gently.

Sasuke Still had his gauntlet on, but could feel the motion easily enough, and the tips of his fingers brushed lightly across her skin. He didn't let it continue for long, recalling his hand away from Sakura and looking at her. Even in this light he could see her face, but the look on it was alien to him. Begging, hoping, yearning, caring, so much was spelled out he couldn't really label it all. She was now reaching out her arms, and Sasuke had been so fixated on her face he didn't notice until they were touching him, wrapping around his body.

She tried to kiss him again, but he turned his face away just as before. This time she wasn't pushed away though. She pulled herself onto the couch right against Sasuke and pressed her body with his. He didn't look towards her, and his body stiff and still, uncomfortable in this situation. She shifted her position slightly and pressed her face into his chest through the gap in his clothes. She kissed him lightly on the chest and felt him tensing up even more under her touch. "Sasuke relax…please."

"Sakura I won't." It was Sasuke's voice, his plain voice. There was not a hint of lust or passion in it, and Sakura was disheartened. Her grip around his body loosened and she could feel him pushing her away again. Sasuke stopped pushing when he heard her sobbing.

Sakura looked up towards his face, he had turned back to face her. "Why not? Why Sasuke why? Why can't you love me? I'd do anything for you. Die for you. Kill for you. Anything. So why?" She was actively crying now.

Sasuke couldn't help himself. It hurt him to be hurting her. But he had to persist. "My life is one of revenge. There is no room for love. Stop wasting time waiting for me Sakura. I will never change as long as my brother lives." He began to push her away again.

Sakura had a sickening sense of vertigo as she was about to fall off the couch. She made a small sound of fear and reached out grabbing onto Sasuke once more for support. Sasuke too, seemed to have noticed her plight, and had instinctively grabbed her to stop her fall. After he had her stable on the couch again, he realized he had his arms wrapped around her now. He began to release his grasp, but Sakura grabbed around his waist and whispered out "Wait! Even if you can't love me, can you at least hold me?"

Sasuke knew she was just deluding herself into some false affirmation of love from him. But even as he thought this his arms relaxed around her body. He could feel her relax in his grip, and her slow breathing signaled to him that she was asleep. Sasuke was afraid to move, so he sat still.

Sometime during the night he must have fallen asleep, things progressed too quickly after that into the morning. Sakura was still in his arms. _'Stupid move. She will hold onto this forever.' _Someone else spoke into Sasuke's mind then. It said _'And so will you.'_ Sasuke was abashed at his own thoughts. He was drawn away from such things as Sakura stirred in his grasp. She felt about with her hands to find out where she was, and when she opened her eyes to see Sasuke, she jumped up from the couch and ran out of the room. It wasn't the reaction Sasuke had expected.

For two weeks they had a similar pattern to this every night and morning, with Sakura approaching Sasuke and ending up sleeping in his arms. And every morning she would jump away with him in some strange hurry. It confused Sasuke to no end, especially his part in the precursor event, allowing Sakura to sleep by him each night. Though he dreaded it and was adamant about refusing her, she would come every night and would invariably end up in his arms, sleeping underneath him.

This day, two weeks after he had come to stay with her, was different. His examination results from the hospital would be ready. After Sakura's morning freak out session Sasuke decided not to wait for breakfast. He left the house immediately and went straight to the hospital. Inside he hammered through paperwork and was led away to a room to await the results. To his mortification, the doctor was not the next person through the door, instead Naruto entered, grinning stupidly and followed by Sakura. He couldn't quite tell what Sakura was really thinking, she was trying very hard to look professional.

They didn't say much beyond "hi" to him and he didn't respond. Eventually the doctor entered, and placed a large file down on the counter behind him. "I want to start out by telling you that without Sakura's insight into your case we might never have reached the conclusions we have." Sasuke didn't look over at Sakura; he showed no surprise or gratitude. "To put it bluntly Sasuke, a lot of this has been guess work. the only direct comparisons we could make to your records were three years old, hardly accurate. We were able to use some of the records from Anko Mitarashi to fill in the gaps, but there are still numerous assumptions. From your case, and if our assumptions pan out, we may finally understand how the curse seal functions." This actually interested Sasuke, as Orochimaru had never bothered to elaborate on its functions.

The Doctor continued. "It seems that the curse mark acts in a manner similar to the chakra gates. Normally, even if a person has an amazing level of power, their body acts to limit the amount of output in order to avoid damage to the body. The chakra gates allow a person to bypass these limitations, and access that power at personal risk. The curse seal on the other hand, when activated, warps the cellular structure of the body, granting it a form that is able to withstand those power levels, without causing any immediate harm to the user. Over time and repeated uses however, since the form cannot be maintained indefinitely, the mutation process begins to wear down the cells of the body, most likely leading to dependence on the seal to survive. Eventually, this will result in death. Your case however Sasuke, is unique. From Sakura's account of the incident that led to the seal's removal, we have reached this conclusion. Because you were in your level two stage when the seal was removed, your body was still trying to use the power that had been available to it only moments before, but your cells couldn't handle it in their normal state, causing you to collapse. After this, the unique effects of the jutsu that was used to help you recover actually enhanced your body. Not only were your cells repaired, but they were reinforced until they could handle the levels of chakra you were putting out. In other words, you are as strong as you ever were using the curse seal level two, permanently and with no side effects that we can notice."

The long winded speech was followed by silence. Sasuke comprehended what had been said. He had been aware of it somewhere deep down. Over the past couple weeks he had trained, and had noticed that his defeat had not weakened him, but made him stronger. The doctor's explanation didn't change anything. Sasuke could tell everyone was waiting for him to signal to continue. "I see. Continue."

The doctor nodded. "The next area where we discovered something interesting was you brain." He had Sasuke's full attention now. "We noticed that it seemed that, until recently, certain parts of your brain had been, well, simply again, stunted. It also seemed that certain hormones were slightly subdued. All in all, someone had been giving you drugs to reduce the effects of puberty, and decrease any emotional instability you may have even had a slim chance at developing. Don't worry, everything still works fine, I would just imagine that after these drugs began to wear off there may have been a period of severe instability and confusion. Has anything like that occurred?"

All three of them remembered his violent fit in the forest after Sakura's initial treatment of him.

The doctor could see their faces. "It's ok you don't have to tell me the specifics. The point is you are as medically fit as could be. I'll put these into files and I'll hope that you don't have to come back here to soon." He tried to lighten the scene with his joke. It didn't work.

The doctor left the room and team 7 was left on their own to sort things out. It was Sakura who spoke first. "Naruto, Sasuke, I was doing some reading in between helping the medical staff. It turns out that if you have the written consent of the Hokage, and an agreement of allowance from the hosting village's Kage, it is possible to participate as a two man team in the Chunin exams."

Naruto was happy to hear the news. "You hear that Sasuke? Let's do it! We can definitely get through just the two of us!"

Sasuke still didn't meet either of their stares. Then he smirked, and turned to face them. "Right. What else do I have to do around here?" They all smiled and walked out of the Hospital. Outside Sakura had to go do something, while Naruto went off with Sasuke to talk with Tsunade about getting that written consent.

As it turned out, Sakura had already talked to her for them, so she just handed them the paper and told them to sign it so she could send it off for authorization.

Walking away from the Hokage's office Naruto decided to get curious. "So, how are things going with Sakura? Need a replacement or are you guys too good for that?"

Sasuke ignored him for a minute, before asking. "Naruto, did you understand any of what the doctor said?"

Naruto scratched his head and laughed a little, "Well there was that bit about you being stronger, and that bit about you having a fit of rage. He he he…"

Sasuke sighed, "You idiot Naruto, he basically said Orochimaru had brainwashed me to feel no emotions whatsoever. And the drugs were only beginning to wear off two weeks ago. My mind is still a mess. And relationships are very low on the order of things I need to get sorted out." He knew that this would shut Naruto up, and it did. After a little ways more Sasuke jumped away, heading in a different direction. He was following his feet, going wherever they took him. He found himself at the scene.

The area of town had been repopulated many years ago. They had had the sense when Sasuke was still young not to simply move him back into his district. Even now he still knew every corner, every alleyway. This was the ancient home of the Uchiha clan. The murdering grounds for his brother's "capability". Towards the back of the district there was a memorial he had visited frequently as a child, but had stopped when he was assigned a ninja squad alongside Naruto and Sakura.

It was a stone plaque in the shape of the Uchiha family crest. Engraved into it were the names of all those murdered in the massacre. At the bottom there was a short poetic excerpt, a sort of prayer wishing for the happy afterlife of those who lost their lives that day. No where on it was Itachi's name present, or Sasuke's for that matter.

Someone was already up at the monument and had laid some flowers in front of it. _'Sakura?'_ She stood and turned, freezing upon seeing Sasuke standing there. She looked happy to see him, but did not show it so much as to be inappropriate for the scene.

She turned around and looked back down at the monument. Without warning Sakura said "Every week, Sasuke-kun. Ever since you left. Sometimes I thought about carving your name into it. In a way he killed you too that night."

Three years of emotionless manipulation ended, and a tear rolled down Sasuke's cheek. He wiped it away quickly. He replied to her. "No. I did that myself."

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A/N: how emotional. But yeah that second lemon is coming up quickly. 


	18. Joy and Pain

A/N: Here it is. Lemon Number two. I thought I'd address this here and now too. If you're reading this story just because you are perverted and like lemons, stop. I guarantee you will be disappointed because this story is more about the drama/action then any of the lemony. That's just a side thing to act as fanficfan service, and because I pride myself on detail. On another note, this chapter gives me an opportunity to thank everyone. MORE THEN 10000 TOTAL HITS!!!!!!!! WOOT!!!!! I know that number is pretty bogus, so I go more by the number of hits on chapter 1 for how many times the story has actually been "hit". That number is over 3000, SO WOOT ANYWAY!!!!! Thanks for reading! And like I said this chapter is made as a fanficfan service so Please enjoy.

Reviews:

Rasengan: Why are you angry? IT GREW BACK!!! Plus, this is a good thing (Dragon). All in good time. They're going to the chunin exams soon! You just know they're gonna pull all kinds of new tricks out and make everybody redefine the term HOLY #$!!

Darth: Thanks for reading the story. Those are some of my favorite moments so far as well.

Jeanie: thanks for startin to read, and don't worry about updates. I'm fairly confidant I hold some kind of record for most submitted in X amount of time. Could anyone check that for me? Cuz that would be so awesome.

Warning: If you didn't get it before there is a lemon in this chapter. If you are offended by that stuff or just aren't horny or whatever you don't have to read it, and it goes right up to the end of the chapter so you won't miss anything.

If you want to read the lemon then go on.

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Chapter 18: Joy and Pain

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'_She really…'_

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Sakura and Sasuke walked away from the monument together. As they wove through the streets that had once belonged solely to the Uchiha clan, Sakura became curious. "What was your childhood like Sasuke-kun?" 

Sasuke didn't answer immediately. He was trying to think of some kind of response, but couldn't think of the right word to use. It had been so long since he thought about those times; he had almost forgotten them completely. There was of course another dilemma in those memories; almost all of them had Itachi in them. Itachi back when he was the caring and kind hearted older brother to Sasuke, the mentor, the achiever, the pride of the Uchiha clan. But even fond memories of him reminded Sasuke only of his mission, his purpose in life. His revenge. Sasuke didn't know how long ago she had asked the question, but he had an answer. "Ignorance is bliss."

Sakura understood what he meant. That he was happy only because he knew not of the horrors of this world. "Knowing happiness is not the same as being ignorant of pain." She knew she had no place to speak, yet it seemed right, and he did not snap out against her.

* * *

'_She thinks…'_

* * *

They found their way out of that district and back into central Konoha. Sasuke said noting, but Sakura could feel him relax a bit. "Have you eaten today, Sasuke?" He hadn't, and told her this. Sakura smiled, "I know a place we can go that is near here. It has Umeboshi." He didn't really respond, but he followed Sakura as she walked towards the restaurant. He followed as she entered, and he showed no objection when she asked for a table for two. He even sat down at the table the waiter led them too. All of this was quite exciting to Sakura, who had convinced herself that this somehow constituted a date. 

Sasuke showed no recognition of her, simply picking up a menu and ordering something. Sakura, too ordered, and while waiting for the food she looked around the establishment, but mostly at Sasuke. He was sitting slightly forward, with his hands together in front of his face and his elbows on the table. His eyes never seemed to waver from their forward focus. She noticed, quite suddenly, that most of the other patrons were staring at her strangely. She then noticed that she was wrong, and that they were in fact looking at Sasuke.

They whispered to each other in his presence, or if they were far enough away talked while checking to make sure he seemed distracted. Sakura considered them vultures. _'He's back. Can't you be happy for his return?'_ But she also knew they were justified in their curiosity and wariness. The food arrived, and Sakura tried to ignore them by digging into her meal. Sasuke was still for a moment, and began eating slowly.

Sakura really did enjoy this places food, much more then the Ichiraku's that Naruto always insisted upon. When she was finished she turned to look at Sasuke and to her surprise he had finished well before her. She caught for just a split second that he was looking at her before his eyes quickly shot back to his own hands. The check came, and she noticed Sasuke cringe as she pulled out the money to pay for both of them. "Don't worry, its no trouble really I don't mind." She paid and gave a nice tip. Then she walked out of the restaurant and noted that Sasuke was following a few paces behind her.

Once outside she turned to face him, and asked "Where would you like to go now?"

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'_She's completely…'_

* * *

"I don't know." Sakura just looked at him, and he couldn't really tell what she was waiting for. So he just started walking, with her following him. He aimlessly wandered the streets, taking turns as the tiniest whim led him. More then once he would make full circles around whole blocks. And yet always right behind him was Sakura, waiting patiently for him to make up his mind as to where the hell to go. 

His random wandering took hours, so the sun was setting and the clouds in the sky had turned orange in twilight light. Somehow during all that time he had actually wandered out of the main area of the city, and into the training grounds. This place looked so familiar he had to stop. "Training ground number three; it's where Kakashi-sensei gave us our bell test. Do you remember it, Sasuke-kun?"

Of course he did. This meadow was laden with memories of Naruto's stupidity, Sakura's uselessness, and his feeble attempts to take on a Jonin. He also remembered something else as well. "Those who disobey the rules are trash, but those who betray their allies are even lower then trash." It was what Kakashi had told them. "What am I, who does both?" That was the question on his mind.

Sakura stepped forward so that she was now slightly in front of Sasuke. "You were the one who was taken away. It's our fault for not being strong enough to bring you back. We should have tried harder. We should have—"

"Shut up Sakura. Stop telling yourself I was completely under his control. I chose to go, of my will, for my goals. I abandoned all of you, this entire village, for nothing but my own revenge. And I did it without a second thought—"

"Now you shut up." He did, turning to look at her. "You told me yourself you thought twice, when I asked you to stay. But none of it matters. Who abandoned who. Who wasn't strong enough. It doesn't matter anymore. Because you're here and you're staying." She was walking slowly towards Sasuke as she said this. She was right next to him when she finished.

He looked at her, so close, _so close… _He turned and started walking away. Walking back to her house.

* * *

'_She's more…'_

* * *

He was lying on the couch, trying to get to sleep. It was far later then when Sakura usually came and curled up next him. _'Have I become so soft?'_ He made the effort of pushing away these thoughts. Shortly after this, Sakura walked down into the room. But she didn't come towards Sasuke. Instead she sat on the other couch. Sasuke sat up, and looked through the darkness at her. 

She said, "I still don't know what more I can do for you Sasuke."

It was the same old song. He had turned it down a hundred times, and now, he could admit, he didn't want to anymore. But at the same time… "Could you do nothing?" He had her attention. "If the time were to come, could you stand back and let me go? Even if you thought I would die, could you really stand by and let it happen?"

She knew he was talking of his battle with Itachi. Her first reaction would have been to simply agree with Sasuke automatically, to scream yes. But she couldn't do it so easily. To stand by and watch Sasuke fight a battle he could not win, to know he was going to die and not be able to do anything about it, that was unbearable. That was the whole reason behind her training for these years. So that she could save her friends, so that none of them would ever have to die. Now, to be asked to simply let go, it was no so simple.

Sasuke could see her fighting herself. It seemed that he had finally found in her the one thing she could not do. And yet this was what he needed her to promise to do, or else, he would have to leave again. Separating himself from them had always been in part to avoid their interference in his battle. Here was the admission that his fear was accurate.

Sakura battled herself into tears. Then it hit her. That she could let him go, if only she could hold him first. "Yes" Not loud enough, her voice was so choked at the thought of Sasuke's death. She mustered every breath in her body to force it out. "Yes"

Sasuke couldn't hear her. But he could see, he could read lips. She had said yes.

'_She said yes. She really would do anything. She thinks only of my wants. She's completely devoted to me. She's more then anyone could ever want. And I have never wanted her.'_

'_Until now.'_ He stood and walked over to her, she was still sitting. He reached out his arm and only meant to touch her arm, but his hand went instead to her face. She had been so eager to press herself into his hand two weeks ago, and it had not faded. She held his hand to her face, rubbing her cheek against it gently. She was also standing slowly, until she was fully up right. His hand was still on her face and her eyes were closed. _'Just my touch does this to her, what if I…Humph, so recently you would have considered this all worthless. No, you wouldn't even have considered it. I'm not back Sakura, it's not the me you remember, it's not the me I ever was before. But if you can give me up, then I can let you hold me.'_

She didn't see it coming, not with her eyes or even her wildest fantasies. Sasuke kissed her. On the lips. She almost couldn't handle it, almost pulled away, and almost opened her eyes. But she didn't. She just took it in, held that position for as long as she could. Until he pulled away. Not to leave she reassured herself, but to breathe. She opened her eyes then, and saw Sasuke. It was still Sasuke. He was just looking at her now, waiting for what? Permission? He had it. His breath? He had that too. What then? It hit her like a brick. _'He doesn't really know what to do!'_ "Sasuke!" She kissed him, throwing herself into his body and face. She sucked on his lips and felt Sasuke stiffening, then melting in her arms.

It was really horrible. Sasuke could follow his battle instincts with absolute clarity, but here he had no instincts, no passions to follow. It was horrible to relinquish control to her like this. But it was also amazing. She began with kisses, whispering instructions to him, "Open" and so he opened his mouth slightly on their next kiss, allowing her tongue inside his mouth. "Here" and she grabbed his arm pulling it to her back, where he wrapped it firmly around her. "Come" and she began to move, so he followed, their embrace never breaking. Horrible or magnificent, she was in charge now, and she would have her way.

* * *

Teh lemonz has began...

* * *

She led him through the parts of the house he had avoided so thoroughly. He had found where the bathroom, living room, and kitchen were without going anywhere else. This back area seemed taboo to him, ad he could only go now because she was dragging him with her. They moved together, kissing between steps. He saw a door off to the side, but she made no move for it. She came to a staircase. Their dance of kissing and holding made going up the steps difficult, but not impossible. In the upstairs hallway there were a few doors and she passed by some until she found the one she wanted. 

It opened into her bedroom. He saw and froze, even resisting her tug to which he had so fluidly moved only moments before. She pulled on him again, and yet he remained fixed to his position. "What's wrong? Afraid? Shy? Don't be. Come here." He responded to her voice, walking slowly into the room, drawn by her hand. Once he was inside and the door was closed behind him, she let go of his hand and removed her nightgown, revealing the lingerie beneath.

'_So beautiful'_ No mental block appeared, no doubt was in his mind's voice, and he finally had an impulse on what to do next. He moved forward and embraced her, that was nothing new by now, but he also kissed her, copying the movements of her tongue she had made in his mouth moments before. He felt her shake a little, and she made a strange noise. He didn't know what I was but could feel it was a good thing. He felt her bare body with his fingers. It came to his attention that Sakura was pulling on his clothing, starting with his shirt. So loose was the garment that it slid off his shoulders as soon as he relaxed his arms a bit.

He pulled off his gauntlets and kicked off his foot wear. She reached down and felt the spiral sash that wove around his waist, pulling at it until it came loose, and fell away with all that it held up. Sasuke had only under garments on now. She quickly changed that, much to Sasuke's chagrin. Now he was nude before her. She could see his manhood, erect after their almost continual contact before. He turned away from her, and in the dim light she could almost see the blood rushing to his face. _'So timid.'_ She came up behind him and snaked her arms around his body but underneath his own. She nuzzled his back with her head, and pulled back slowly. His body was so rigid he actually stumbled back, falling on top of her when they hit the bed.

He rolled off of her when he heard her making noises. But she was actually laughing a bit, and she rolled catching Sasuke in a kiss right on the bed. She grabbed his arm again and brought it to her back. She then reached around with one arm in this awkward position and felt his hand, leading it up to her bra clasp. He fumbled with it, but together they managed to unhook it. Then she pulled it off and flung it away. She reached down her body and slid off her own panties. Now she too was nude.

Sasuke was frozen again. He just looked at her, unsure anymore if he was doing this for her or for himself. Then he jumped up towards the head board. One of Sakura's small frail hands had actually grabbed his member. His startled jump caused her to let go and look up towards him. Then she smiled a small smile. "Sasuke…" He didn't know how to react, and Sakura still seemed to be in control. She crawled up the bed, placing her body over his as she went. And when their faces were level again she kissed him again. With her right hand she held his shoulder, and with her left she reached down and grabbed hold of his member once more. He didn't react so violently this time, partly because he expected it, but mostly because she held him with her other hand.

Her gentle fingers felt the appendage, and she was shocked to notice that at some point he had put a rubber on. She was hesitating now.

Sasuke stared into her eyes, bright green in even the dimmest light. Now he was sure. Sure of many things. But most assured of his desires. He threw her sideways and rolled on top of her, staring down at her now. She had lost her grip in the transition. Sasuke bent down and kissed her. He broke the kiss and pushed inside her.

Pain. Bliss. Shock. Hunger. Sakura cried. Tears of joy and pain. Sasuke was quickly finding his instincts. He started thrusting. She felt her insides slowly tearing apart to accommodate this intrusion. Eventually her insides sorted themselves out. But Sasuke was moving so slow, she had to gasp out "faster". He didn't respond openly, instead he just did as she said, speeding up his thrusts.

She felt it growing inside her. Like a bomb about to go off. Or a boulder on the edge of a cliff. And then he pushed just so hard and it teetered. She was gasping for air as he just continued to pound into her; he had kept speeding up so that now it actually was pounding in a sense. With each jolt she felt her body shuddering and she was left gasping for air. She was making small squeaks that were catching his attention.

He held his eyes open through it all. He wanted to see her through it. To see this girl-woman who was so devoted to him. She cried at first, so he went slow. Then he saw her lips move, again too quiet to hear but he saw what she said and obeyed. He enjoyed the increase in speed, but what fascinated him most was the sweat. He could defeat a legion of ninja, train from dawn to dusk, or any number a physical activities without a bead, but this simple task produced an unbelievable amount of sweat. Not all his he knew, some was from contact with her. Her. Her skin made shiny by the moisture. He wanted to gaze at her.

There was also that. He could feel the pressure building up at the very tip of his manhood. "Sakura…I…I'm…" He managed to say this between thrusts.

"Wait…Just…a little…" She was so out of breath, so tired. She couldn't imagine keeping this up for much longer. She didn't have to. The boulder fell, her body was racked with pleasures of orgasm. She arched uncontrollably, and screamed. "SASUKE!!!"

Everything was quiet save for their panting. Sasuke had rolled off of her and was lying at her side panting equally as fierce. He suddenly rolled onto his side and wrappd his arms around her. Sakura turned away from him, and asked "Sasuke, the—"

"Naruto. "guy stuff""

She understood. "When did you—"

"turned around'

She remembered that too. _'not so timid I guess'_ "And you came—"

"Right before you I think, but I kept it up for you."

She settled into his arms, all questions answered, and fell asleep.

* * *

A/N: Better then the last one in my opinion. Though I'm still working with virgins. Gotta change that soon… 


	19. Preperations

A/N: This chapter flows quickly over the time between the previous chapter's events and Naruto and Sasuke's departure. Also this chapter's shout out goes to Power of a Kage, the newest C2 to add my story to its ranks. Thanks guys and I like the name of that C2, very cool.

Reviews: I'm more of a NaruHina fan then a SakuSasu fan myself, but this was important to the storyline I've got planned out, which just keeps stretching on.

* * *

Chapter 19: Preparations

Hinata crawled out of bed, moving carefully and deliberately to not wake Naruto. It wasn't official or anything, and she was sure no one really knew, but she had been living with Naruto for two weeks. She had only gone back to the Hyuga family home once since she managed to tell her father off, while she was there she saw only Hanabi, whom she did not speak with. Hinata went to pick up some clothes and money, and she did just that without obstruction.

Now she got dressed quietly and went into the kitchen. She would begin to prepare breakfast, nothing too fancy, but much more healthy and balanced then instant ramen cups. He would wake up when he smelled it, and would quickly dress himself and come in here to eat. She would never be able to finish everything she served herself, so she would give the rest of it to Naruto. He would praise her cooking, regardless of how mundane it was.

Today went off without a hitch. Then it was time for Naruto's favorite part of their daily routine. Training. Since Hinata went nowhere near the Hyuga family gym, she could not train with Neji as she had been previously. It hurt her progress, she was aware of that, but to her it was more important to her that she got to spend time with Naruto.

Everyday he would work himself into exhaustion, while for the first few days Hinata had been working on something towards the side of the field. When she finished it she showed it to Naruto. It was a hollowed out log, nothing but the cylindrical outer section remaining, and only an inch thick at its widest. Suspended by 8 wires in the center of it was a small glass vial filled with water. Hinata could see Naruto's confusion. "It's used to train for advanced gentle fist techniques. The point is to try and slam my open hand into the side of the log, and cause the glass to break, without causing any visible damage to the log itself. This is crude, but it will work once I'm at that level."

"That level?" Naruto didn't really get how that was even possible, but he felt curious anyway.

Hinata turned towards a target post, and threw a kunai into it. She walked around to the back of the post and paused for a moment. With a quick strike she hit the post, her hand open so that her palm was what connected. On the other side the Kunai fell out. Naruto didn't get how she had done it but was impressed. She didn't look so happy. Naruto ran over to congratulate her but she shook her head and pointed at where she had hit the log. There was dent and some fractured wood where she had hit it. "See, I can't control the chakra well enough. All I do is impact with a blast and send it through; a true Hyuga should be able to knock the Kunai out without a trace of hitting the post. Like my sister."

Naruto didn't like seeing her sad. He smiled and patted her back, using his encouraging voice to say "You'll get it Hinata, don't you worry one bit!" She was instantly cheered up; Naruto always had that effect on her.

So it went, Naruto training whatever random part of his skills he felt like for the day, while Hinata tried day after day to knock the Kunai loose. She would always run low on chakra long before Naruto began to show tire at all, so she would leave for the day to go hang out with her team and not appear to be completely owned by Naruto.

It was once she was gone that Naruto got serious. The games he played to amuse her, his little practices for abilities he had already mastered, those were for her eyes, so she would not worry. Once she was gone his true training partner came out.

* * *

Sasuke was awake for a long time before Sakura as usual. What was unusual was the place where they lay, which was her bedroom, and the amount of clothing they had on, which was none. He loosened his grip on her body, and pulled his arm out from underneath her, she was so deeply asleep not even this woke her. He found his clothing on the floor and dressed. As he did he looked around this room.

White walls, a mirror, a low table, dressers, and on top of one of the dressers a photo. It showed Kakashi leaning over three children. One of them was happy, looking at the camera with a thin smile. There were boys to either side of her, the one to her left wore orange, and was looking rather displeased with the other boy. The other boy was grimacing at nothing in particular. _'Not me.'_

He turned at the sound he heard. Sakura was yawning and sitting up in bed, wrapping the sheets around her as she rose. "Good morning Sasuke-kun."

He looked at her, embarrassed for a moment, and then ashamed of his embarrassment. He rose to his feet and walked silently towards the door. He stopped at the jam. "Remember what you promised." With that he left the room and headed down stairs.

She bore the pain of his remarks and drowned it in the thoughts of last night. She could forget that promise for a long time. But she would keep it. Then she remembered that she needn't worry at all. Sasuke was invincible, unbeatable, no one could defeat him. So he would win his fight against Itachi hands down. She soothed herself with these thoughts even as she knew them to be lies.

She showered and dressed, then headed down stairs. Sasuke was there, on his couch, sitting silently and not even glancing to her as she entered and walked past him into the kitchen. _'Just as always then. It was probably a one night event. For now…'_ She made the breakfast and served them up in the dining room. He came in and ate. As if nothing had happened, their lives simply kept going. But that night he slept in her bed again.

* * *

3 weeks later.

* * *

She was coming back again today. How Troublesome. She was always rude, curt, and bossy, but in the private of his office for working on the Chunin exams, she was only a hundred times worse. Yet she had to come back again, and he had to work with her. And he didn't really mind, it was just troublesome. Troublesome, but fun and memorable.

The slam came at his door. He walked over slowly and opened it just as slowly. On the other side she was standing, with a very annoyed look on her face. "Lazy jerk, can't you pick up the pace, look at all this?" He had not actually seen her face; he had just known it would be annoyed. She was holding a monstrous stack of papers.

He just gazed at it for a moment, locked in awe. "How did you carry these all the way from Suna?"

"BAKA!! I picked this tuff up here. This is your work. LET ME THROUGH!!!" She didn't wait for him to move; she just pushed her way in and slammed the papers down on the table, balancing them with her hands until they stopped swaying. Once that was done she found a chair and sat in it, out of breath and gasping.

He continued to admire the stack of work she had brought. "What is all this?"

She looked up at him. "Didn't you receive word yet? The Tsuchikage has made a request that his village be allowed to host the Chunin exams. The Hokage, Raikage and Kazekage have all confirmed it, so we have to redo all the form outward going addresses and notifications appropriately. It's a nightmare. We had fewer forms in Suna of course, fewer shinobi. All of this is Konoha's mess. I'm really only here to turn in the forms from Suna and get them on their way to Iwa. I do that and they ask me to give you this monstrous stack."

He was still staring at it. Troublesome. "C'mon, let's get to work." That caught him off guard.

"You're, helping me?" He really couldn't believe that.

She smiled at him. "Let's face it Shikamaru you're a lazy bum. You barely managed to finish the original forms before the deadline, and this huge stack is due in half that amount of time. I wouldn't care if you went to go die in combat but I wouldn't wish this hell of paperwork on anyone. So pick up a pen and get to work. From what I've heard most of what this pile contains is cancellations for the lodgings and care for the stay in Konoha most teams would have required."

So bossy, but he was grateful. He reached up and pulled the top packet down. It caught his eyes. "Hey Temari. Take a look at this." He handed it to her and she read through it quickly after seeing the photos attached.

"He's—"

"That's right he's back."

"And _he's_—"

"Also right, working with him. Special permission for a two man team. Approved." He couldn't help it, he started laughing. When he was finished he pulled out a cigarette and lit it, breathing deeply of the toxic stuff.

Temari kept looking at him. "You smoke?"

He looked back at her. "Oh yeah. A lot of stuff's changed since you were last here; this is one of those things." He held out his cigarette and looked straight at it. "Isn't that right, Asuma?"

Temari was really confused, but Shikamaru stopped acting weird and got to work refilling the forms, so she stopped gawking and got to work herself.

* * *

They stood at attention in her office. Tsunade eyed them up. "Naruto Uzumaki. Sasuke Uchiha. You have been approved for a two man team entry into the Chunin exams to be held in Iwagakure in one week. You leave today, along with the other participating Genin teams." They leave as a group out of the West gate in 2 hours, all have been informed. Say goodbye to whomever you wish and get going. Dismissed."

They left silently and parted ways outside the building.

* * *

Naruto ran home to pack. He was finished quickly enough and had plenty of time to search for Hinata to say good bye to him. She found her hanging out with Kiba and Shino where they usually were. When she saw him and his pack she became very confused. He walked up saying hello to each of them and telling them the good news. Shino and Kiba looked at each other, and each suddenly had some business to take care of. Once they were alone Hinata cried a little, and Naruto held her to comfort her. "You'll do fine while I'm gone. Remember to train everyday. I'll come back and see that new technique you've been practicing ok?" He let her go and backed away a little. "Bye, Hinata-chan"

* * *

Sasuke found Sakura walking through the streets of the village. He approached her and stopped her. "I'm going to Iwagakure for the Chunin exams." Then he released his hold on her and walked away. She didn't look back at him.

* * *

They met at the gate on time. Joining them were two additional teams of Genin, each younger then either Sasuke or Naruto, but older then they had been their first try years ago. As they stood, waiting for the official departure time to come, Naruto heard something. "BOSS! BOSS! NARUTO-NEESAN!!"

Konohamaru came running up, his long scarf and teammates trailing him. "So Konohamaru you're going to the Chunin exams too?"

He was shook his head and looked up at Naruto. "No. Ebisu wouldn't give us clearance. But anyway I wouldn't want to be taking the test if it meant I might have to go up against you!" Naruto laughed. After that there were some good byes, and then the 8 of them left heading northwest along the main roads for Iwagakure.

* * *

A/N: So we are moving into a slightly actiony section here, but you can plan on there being plenty of drama between Naruto and Sasuke. They've done a pretty good job of saying the bare minimum to each other for now but now they have to work together. 


	20. Rocks

A/N: Sorry for the wait in updates I had a virus and had to recover my computer. All my manga and anime downloads are gone!!! And I had to retype this chapter after being nearly half way done with it!! Anyway Chunin exams are underway and there is a bit of a bomb at the end. Not literal but you know what I mean. Side note: The only Earth-nin to get a serious part in this chappie is a kind old man, not the kind to hold a grudge. There will be plenty of Konoha-Iwa conflict just wait for it.

Reviews:

Rasenganfin: I'm a guy.

Jeanie: I'm pretty sure that Naruto is still a Genin currently, how much time has he had for exams with all the Aktasuki action?

Useful: Actually no I haven't heard that but I can kinda explain it. For Naruto, Hinata was just a pretty girl, he's a perverted teenager, and at first it was sorta like rebounding off of Sakura's denials of him. Then his natural good heartedness kicked in and he couldn't stand to hurt Hinata or cheapen her. Then he came to the conclusion that that means he really cares for her, and so he does. Thanks for giving me an excuse to explain that.

* * *

Chapter 20: Rock

"_Leader, if you don't mind my asking, why did you influence this change in seemingly irrelevant events?"_

"_This Jinchuuriki has managed to escape from capture three times, once with the aid of a Sannin, once with the help of a Jonin after nearly killing one of us, and finally in a battle in which he actually did kill one of us. I have taken an interest in seeing him first hand."_

"_He's not that tough, Kakuzu was just stupid. The only thing that is dangerous about him is that demon, and he can't even control it."_

"_When he defeated Kakuzu he was not using any of the fox's chakra." **"It was all his power, but it hurt him too."**_

"_It is moot, don't worry yourselves with him. You should be more interested in Itachi's report. Itachi?"_

"_Kisame will be out of commission for a day at the least. There were four of them. No hidden village affiliations were shown, but it is quite obvious that they—"_

"_I know. Kisame, what do you have to say for yourself."_

"_They…took…Samehada…I'll kill them…"_

"_What's the big deal with that big scaly stick anyway?"  
_

"_O—Tobi, Samehada is a valuable weapon. While it will do no good for the opponents, Kisame's abilities are much greater with it then without."_

"_Fascinating. Take care of it. Dismissed."

* * *

_

Sasuke masked his emotions as well as always. Currently he was feeling a sense of awe while looking at the village hidden in the rocks, but mostly he had to hide a sense of disgust at the much more apparent awe of his teammates. Naruto and the 6 other Genin were wide eyed and open mouthed as they stared at all the city had to give them.

Iwagakure was built inside the caldera of a large and extinct volcano. This was excellent for strategy as getting inside the city meant either going through tunnels or climbing the sheer rock face that surrounded it. It was a bad choice as far as architecture was concerned though. Once the village reached the wall and its population continued to rise, they could not expand outward. Instead masterful builders and engineers have since been expanding the city upwards.

The buildings stretch upwards into the sky, and all around them supporting them and providing electricity and water to the higher floors are the strong pipes and tubes. If you're on the ground, and assuming you are from another hidden village, things look a lot shadier and an unwary tourist can fall over just trying to follow one of the buildings up. Naruto did this twice.

Their guide was polite enough and took them to the hotel where they would be staying. They were given three rooms, one for each team. Naruto initially protested but was silenced by Sasuke and they dealt with it.

The city was abuzz with the talk of the Chunin exams. It had been done completely at the last minute by the Tsuchikage alone, and apparently he had created the criteria for the tests on the spot, so no one was quite sure what the tests would be like.

"Well, we know there's going to be a written exam followed by a survival portion right? That stuff shouldn't change should it?" Naruto was lying in his bed scratching his head. "WELL?"

Sasuke sighed. "Most likely."

Naruto squinted at this lack of a reply. "C'mon Sasuke, we're a team in this, we gotta, y'know, strategize, communicate, think."

Another sigh. "Think in your own head, I wouldn't want to be dumbed down by your thoughts."

Naruto actually smiled, he was happy that the small sense of humor Sasuke had was returning to him. But he still had to press the issue. "Well, on the written, you can just use your eyes to cheat through like last time, but what am I supposed to do?"

Sasuke was a little peeved now. "What part of I don't want to hear you don't you get? Besides, you have the answer right there, cheat. It's what they expect you to do."

Naruto already knew that. "Yeah but how am I supposed to cheat? Could you like give me the answers or something?"

"And how exactly would I do that? You're on your own in there Naruto. Face it and make your own damn plan." Sasuke rolled away from Naruto and turned out the lights.

As Naruto sat in the darkness Sasuke's words played over and over again in his mind. _'On my own…on my own…THAT'S IT!!!'_ He got right to sleep.

* * *

The next day Naruto and Sasuke were up early, though they couldn't really tell. The room they had had only the one window and it faced another building which made seeing the sun all but impossible. Once Naruto was done dressing and stretching and eating some room service, they headed out. They met up with the other Konoha Genin and headed down to where the exams were taking place. Despite the enormity of this city, it seemed fairly easy to find, it's where all the shinobi were headed to.

As they approached the building a voice rang out in the crowd. "NARUTO! Naruto is that you?!"

Naruto turned to see a young woman come running up to him. She had shoulder length brown hair and was dressed in a yellow scarf and loose green shirt which didn't cover her shoulders. Naruto didn't recognize her. "Ummm, hello?"

She smiled at him, and now that she was closer he could see Sunagakure forehead protector wrapped around her waist like a belt. "It's me Matsuri, remember? You helped me and Garaa-sensei that time."

One of her teammates had caught up with her, he looked rather annoyed. "He's not your teacher anymore Matsuri, he's Kazekage-sama now. In fact, he was only your teacher for that one day."

Naruto remembered her now. "Oh hi Matsuri, sorry I didn't recognize you."

She seemed to be ignoring her teammate. "That's ok, so why are you here Naruto? You the Jonin for one of these Genin squads?"

Naruto's face sunk in embarrassment. "Actually I'm taking the exam; I never got around to it with all my training."

She gawked at him for a moment. "Oh, really. Well good luck then. My team and I are taking the test too."

Naruto smiled again. "Well good luck to you guys, but don't sweat if you flunk your first time, this test is hard."

"Right, thanks Naruto, see you later." She ran off through the crowds.

"Naruto, stop wasting time." It was Sasuke in his usual droll voice. But Naruto heeded him and they made their way into the building for registration.

The process was quick, and they were escorted into a testing hall after only a few minutes of trading death gazes with the other ninja.

Once inside the teams were split up and seated in random sections of the room. Naruto was sitting surrounded by foreign people. He noticed a vast majority of the ninja here were rock-nin. The proctor stepped into the room. He looked out over the crowd until relative silence was found. "This is a standard written examination to test your ability in the more logistical areas of ninja combat. Please note, we take an extreme position on cheating on this exam, and it will not be tolerated. Please note, there are numerous additional proctors seated around the room. If you are…" Naruto barely paid attention. He still remembered the speech from last time. Instead he was already sizing up the possible candidates around him, and preparing his move. "BEGIN!"

Naruto flipped his paper over; there were ten questions on it. _'Oops, maybe I should have listened more closely. Oh well my plan is fool proof.'_ There was a bug on Naruto's sandal. No one had noticed it, how often do you look at another man's shoes. The bug was fairly large though, easily spotted if it was moving, and any Aburame could tell you it wasn't native to anywhere near Iwagakure, or the Earth country at all for that matter. The bug crawled off of Naruto's shoe and a few chairs away. Naruto had noticed that this guy seemed slightly older then the average age of the Genin. The bug crawled up the back of the guy's chair, and drew itself gently onto his shoulder, not drawing any attention. It peered down at this guys paper, and sure enough all the answers were already filled out.

The bug looked for a few moments, then crawled back down the chair and disappeared on the ground. Naruto wrote down the answers his clone, transformed into a bug, had just seen. _'IT WORKED!!! I'M A GEINOUS!!'_ Naruto smiled to himself internally and relaxed in his seat. Then things changed. One of the teams got called up, but not to be disqualified, instead the members walked to the front of the room and were led through a door marked "Interview". Naruto sure regretted not listening to the proctor.

Every 5 minutes or so another team was called up and taken into the interview room, and dispersed between that several teams had started to get themselves disqualified. Naruto was even a little disappointed when he heard the names of some of the Konoha Genin get called out and disqualified. He didn't have a lot of time to be disappointed though, shortly after that the proctor at the front of the room called out. "Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto…Uzumaki, and, oh I see. Just the two of you then Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki please cone to the front of the room."

Naruto stood and began walking up to the front of the room. He looked over at Sasuke to see if there was any sign that Sasuke knew what was going on. Sasuke's face was blank as always.

They were led through the interview door into a much smaller room. There were two other doors in this room, one to the left and one to the right as they entered. Towards the far side there was a long table with five people sitting at it. In each corner of the room a guard was standing at attention, and in the center of the room there were three armed chairs. "Please sit." Naruto didn't see who had said it, but h didn't want to seem rude, so he sat down in the far right chair, while Sasuke sat in the left hand chair.

As soon as they were seated chains wrapped themselves around every part of their bodies, making movement impossible. Naruto made his token effort to break his constraints, but Sasuke was completely unmoved. The old man in the center of the table spoke up. "I apologize for these restrictions, but it is a necessary part of the process."

Sasuke spoke at the man's pause. "This is no ordinary interview as you described it, is it?"

The old man smiled and nodded. "No, in fact this whole exam is a charade. It's actually more of recruitment. I'll be honest with you. We here in Iwa are tired of the peace. We want what is rightfully ours, the northern section of the Land of Fire and the western portions of the Land of Lightning. We have already begun to prepare our ninja armies for such an invasion. It was our lord Tsuchikage-sama that made this brilliant strategy of crippling our enemies in terms of both manpower and morale. Bring the best of their young ninja here and offer them an ultimatum. Fight for us, or die."

Naruto was appalled to be hearing this. He now understood why no one had come back out of this room; they were either killed in this room for refusing or taken through one of the other doors to be refitted as rock-nin. Sasuke was the one who spoke though. "You really expect us to believe that nonsense?"

The old man wouldn't stop smiling. "Why yes I do. Just look at your feet if you want proof." Naruto instinctively looked down. The ground around his feet was tainted red with bloody stains. It had been sloppily washed away moments before they entered most of it left behind to give them this message. Naruto even thought he could smell some of that disgusting stench he associated with death. "As you can see we are very serious indeed. So which will it be death or—"

Naruto found his voice. "There is no or YOU BASTARDS. You see this headband? That's a leaf, and it will never be a rock as long as I live. SO if you want me to join your war FORGET ABOUT IT!!!!" Naruto didn't see Sasuke grin and nod in agreement.

"As you wish. Guards, do it." The corner guards began to approach brandishing weapons as they came. They got right next to Naruto and Sasuke, and swung down to kill them.

For the briefest moment, Naruto thought about calling out, telling them to stop, asking them to not kill him. But he held his mouth shut; he would not betray his home.

The end never came. The guards struck at the chains, and the five judges were applauding. The old man in the center smiled and said, "You pass, with flying colors I might add. Whether you figured out our ruse or really are that set on serving your village you passed. Well done."

Naruto was grinning broadly. Sasuke was still stoic, and asked "How would you administer this test to rock-nin?"

The old man seemed to smile wider. "Ahhh, for that, our guards transform into cloud-nin, and we represent a secret faction within Iwagakure, seeking to assassinate Tsuchikage-sama and hand over the Land of Earth to the Land of Lightning. Not Important now though. You two advance on to the next stage of the exams. Just what should be expected of an Uchiha and an Uzumaki, the last of your respective lines I imagine? My you two really are the image of your predecessors."

Naruto was picking up on the man's use of his name. "What about the Uzumakis?"

The old man was still jovial with their success, and was answering happily. "Well the names not very well known outside of certain circles, but when it comes to people who've actually met him and heard him called by name and not just title, especially us here in Iwa, well it's a name to remember. Yes indeed, Arashi Uzumaki, The Leaf's Yellow Flash. His most common title of course is the Yondaime Hokage."

The old man continued to be Jovial. The guards were escorting Naruto and Sasuke out of the right hand door. Naruto had a sickening feeling in his chest.

* * *

A/N: GASP!!!!! (BTW: Arashi Uzumaki was a name printed on the toad summoning contract Naruto signed, I just decided to go with it. But how far will I go with it?) 


	21. Rocks 2

A/N: I'm not big on cliché's and I will attempt to throw a few surprises into this whole thing. On a side note, I thought it would be fun to tell everyone the current stats for this chapter. As of 8:40pm (PST) 3/31/07 Living Among Leaves has: 47787 words (+3300 or so for this chappie), 20 (+1) chapters, 82 reviews, 15746 hits (4372 hits to chapter 1), 5 C2s, 28 favs, and 30 alerts. Thanks to everyone whose made these numbers real.

Reviews: This is a public service announcement: NARUTO IS NOT THE SON OF THE FOURTH HOKAGE. Thank you for your time.

Matt: You're probably wrong.

Rasengan-Jeanie: I read about that on some site somewhere, and tucked it into my brain file of "irrelevant naruto trivia". As far as my fic is concerned Arashi Uzumaki was written on that scroll directly to the right of where Naruto signed. Naruto was too dense to notice the other name and didn't see it.

Zephyr-abomb: thanx fer reading and reviewing.

* * *

Chapter 21: Rocks 2 

"So what are we going to do with this thing? It's not like any of us can use it."

"We can't just discard it though. The weapon actively seeks the hand of the one who can wield it."

"So we just hold on to it, and continue searching."

"Yes, they couldn't have gotten too far away, not with the big guy so injured."

"If we can't find them though, perhaps…"

"What?"

"Perhaps we could go back. Home, I think that's the word."

"No, not until we have to or our mission is complete. Remember it's for his own good, that's why you agreed to come."

"Of course."

"That's why all of us agreed to this."

* * *

Naruto didn't have any time to ask the old man any more questions, they were rushed out the door on the right and trough some hallways into a waiting room where all the teams that had passed the test were gathered. Naruto was trying to very hard to comprehend what might be implied by his name, and why it was shared by the fourth Hokage. 

Sasuke was still thinking about the test. He had known, of course, figured it out almost immediately, that the entire thing was a joke, a test of loyalty. He also realized that the correct answer these men were looking for was loyalty, which was the purpose of their test. He understood this, and could not do it. Naruto had saved them both with his outburst, had he not done that, Sasuke would just have remained silent, unable to proclaim his loyalty to Konoha. Sasuke was angry at himself for not being able to even say it as a lie, then angry at himself for not being able to say it at all, then even more angry at himself for thinking of lieing about it. _'Perhaps Tsunade is right. Perhaps I cannot be trusted.'_ Tsunade had known that his intentions were not altogether altruistic, but he had convinced her that he would be very useful to Konoha as long as Itachi was his.

'_Why did she agree to that? Support my revenge when none other would.' _He began thinking about possible reasons, motives, when he realized just how much time had passed during his thinking.

The tests were over; neither of the Konoha Genin teams had managed to pass the written exam portion. There were far fewer ninja participating then the last time Naruto was here. Only 19 teams were passing to the second test, which was of course a survival exercise. They were led out of the main portion of the city and through a tunnel way which led to the outskirts. During this time both Naruto and Sasuke took the opportunity to size up their potential opponents in this next exam. Both of them were confident in their ability to beat any of them.

Naruto caught a glimpse of Matsuri in the crowds, but wasn't able to say hi or congratulate her before the march came to a halt. The procession was standing in front of a large and deep ravine, it had many cross cuts connecting many chasms, and they were all filled with sharp rocks and small ledges. The proctor spoke up. "This is special training ground 9. This will serve as the place for next phase of this Chunin exam. Each team will be randomly placed at a gate which enters the fenced off area from the north, North-West, or west sides. The end goal is to enter the building at the south east corner of the grounds. However, before you can enter this building you will need to have at least two keys. One key will get you in; the second will undo your shackles."

Naruto was listening this time, and was interested when he heard the word shackles. His curiosity turned to dread as he saw a large crate filled with large chains fitted with loops. The large loops were just the right size to lock around someone's leg, and each chain had three such loops, one at each end and one in the middle. Between each loop there was about a meter and a half of chain.

The proctor continued. "That's right, for this test you and your teammates will be chained together and be unable to separate from each other. You will have to work together, to adapt to an adversity, and defeat opponents. Each of you will be given one key to begin, remove the shackles while outside the target building and you will be disqualified. Once you enter the training ground you will have 24 hours to reach the finish. Go to your starting positions and await the signal."

* * *

They were both positive that fighting was out of the question for at least a few hours. Naruto and Sasuke had been provided with a special chain which only had two loops, but otherwise it was the same test for them as anyone else. They're steps were so out of tune that they even had trouble getting into the training ground when the signal went out. They had come to agreement on the pace they would walk with, and they were now working on a way to synchronize their jumping. It was going rather badly, as evidenced by Naruto's bloody and dirty face. 

Sasuke was faring better, he was excellent at aerial maneuvers and could right himself quickly to avoid embarrassing face plants. Naruto was getting better, he was aware of that, but Sasuke still considered him with disappointment. _'Is this as far as you've come Naruto? How did you defeat a member of Akatsuki?'_ Eventually Naruto was landing more often then falling, so they were able begin the journey towards the finish. The way the chains were, Sasuke would lead, while Naruto would follow close behind.

Once they were moving along at a good clip, Naruto decided to assess the situation verbally. "We actually have an advantage don't we? It will be tougher for a three man squad to move chained up then for two people right?"

Sasuke considered that. "It depends on the fighting style of our opponents. This test leans heavily towards teams that use high large amounts of teamwork or at least have similar tactics. If we are facing three people who can all work together and already have synchronized attack patterns that don't require them to move far apart, then we are at a disadvantage." Naruto thought Sasuke's grimace was showing through the back of his head. "We have a disadvantage no matter what actually. I use high speed movement to move in close and inside a targets defenses to deliver finishing blows quickly, against stronger opponents I rely on ninjutsu to attack at mid range first before closing the distance and finishing the weakened opponent. You on the other hand use clones to create distractions and disguise your movements, and attack an opponent with quick, but weak an ineffective attacks, until you understand their movements enough to land your large powerful jutsu. Neither of us have any abilities we can use together, our teamwork is nil, and we each require a large amount of space to do much of anything, which we don't have."

'_Geez I wouldn't have asked if you were gonna be so depressing.'_ Naruto misplaced his foot, yanking back on the chain and causing Sasuke to trip up slightly. He glared back at Naruto who was apologizing. They continued moving through the ravines and craggy rocks, heading straight South-East. They remembered the last time they did the survival test that most people would gather in near the finish line attempting to ambush. They were getting closer to it and both had the distinct impression they were being watched. "Sasuke—"

"I know, move on my signal." Naruto knew they didn't have time to be petty over who gave signals. "Right!" Sasuke jumped to his right and Naruto was right behind him, albeit moving slightly slower. The chain caught them mid flight causing Naruto to land awkwardly and Sasuke to land on all fours. He quickly stood up and looked for the attackers, the ones who had just thrown several shuriken at them. He couldn't see them at first, but a quick glance through the Sharingan revealed their location. "Naruto do you see them?" Naruto shook his head. "Hit them after they move." Sasuke bit his thumb and grabbed his arm with the bleeding thumb. A small poof later he was holding several shuriken in his hand, as well as one kunai prepped with an explosive note. Naruto followed, pulling out a scroll and bringing out several shuriken of his own.

Sasuke threw his kunai to where the enemy was, and they quickly reacted jumping away as their alcove exploded. Naruto and Sasuke sent their shuriken flying towards the enemies. Still flying through midair they could not dodge, so instead they pulled out kunai and deflected away the projectiles, landing unscathed a good 20 feet from Naruto and Sasuke. Now that they were standing still, Naruto and Sasuke could see that they were rock-nin. "Konoha eh?" The one who looked like the leader did not seem happy to see them. "Well this is interesting, only two of you? Is that even allowed?"

"Of course it's allowed, and so is kicking your guys's—"

"Naruto, shut up." Sasuke was preparing to charge, he was making it obvious so that Naruto would get the message and move with him.

Naruto thought that it would be stupid to charge. "Don't bother Sasuke, I'll take care of it from here. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Several shadow clones appeared in close proximity to Naruto and Sasuke, and quickly fell on their faces. As soon as the clones manifested, chains also manifested extending from Naruto's loop and connecting to similar loops around the clone's ankles. As they all tried to move, they all tripped.

The rock-nin laughed at the spectacle while Naruto dismissed his clones. The leader wiped a tear from his eye. "You idiot, like that kind of technique would work with these one. My brother designed them, and trained me and my squad in them for years. If you try to make clones, even just illusions, the shackles grip them as well. Conversely, if you were to lower the total number of bodies, the chains will adapt to grab fewer people. Like this." The leader, who had been standing in the middle reached out and took the hands of his teammates. The teammates then brought their free hands together and began forming hand seals using each other's hands. When they formed the last hand seal, they all spoke out in unison, "Triple transformation combination, demon of the rocks!!"

A large cloud of smoke obstructed them for a moment. As the smoke cleared Naruto and Sasuke could see that in their place was a large humanoid, wearing stone armor and a mask with three faces wrapped around its head. The most startling trait were its six arms, each wielding a large stone weapon of various shapes and sizes. "We can move freely like this, prepare to lose leaf pansies." It's voice was that of all three of the rock-nin speaking in unison. It's statement was true, though it still had the shackle on there was nothing else for the chain to attach to, so it was just the solitary loop on the ankle of the giant.

Naruto was more then a little surprised to see such a thing, but Sasuke remained cool and level headed. The giant leaped high into the air, and was coming down on Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke yelled out, "back!" Naruto and Sasuke jumped backwards, dodging as the giants arms came and slammed into the ground. It quickly began running after them though. Sasuke spoke low enough that he hoped he would not be over heard by the enemy, "Left on my signal then attack." Naruto nodded. As the giant closed in Sasuke drew his sword. They both quickly leapt out of the giants path and then began a run straight towards it. Naruto was aiming for it's head, with Sasuke drawing in towards it's arms and chest.

It swung out a weapon quickly, right between Naruto and Sasuke, and neither of them heeded it. They soon tripped and fell forward, breaking their respective falls with their arms. Sasuke was the first to look back and notice that the weapon had snagged their chain. Both stood and dodged away from the giants many attacks jumping back to unhook their chains. "Damn it. Naruto do you—"

"Not yet Sasuke, I'm pretty sure we can still do this." The giant wasn't listening and charged in to attack again. Despite Naruto and Sasuke's superior speed, they were caught by the chain and had near misses twice. After several more dodges, the giant actually dropped one of its own weapons and grabbed the chain when Sasuke and Naruto were distracted by other arms. It picked it up, and with it Naruto and Sasuke, and tossed them through the air and into the side of the ravine.

Sasuke had managed to break his fall by landing with his feet in the wall, but Naruto went in back first. They fell from the wall and landed facing the giant once more, who was preparing to charge again. "ok Sasuke, go ahead."

The giant heard him say this. "And do what? You two are completely hopeless. Look at how old you are and we can beat you this easily. You guys must be the worst ninja in Konoha. How did our village ever lose to yours?"

Naruto and Sasuke laughed for a minute. And then Sasuke brought forth his left hand. "You're the ones who are hopeless, to not even realize your opponents are just playing with you. Naruto wanted to see if we could pass the test using only abilities we had before our training. Though we could defeat you in that fashion, it would take far to long. So I've decided to end this here and now." The lightning chakra poured into Sasuke's hand and formed a sword.

The giant stared in disbelief. Nature manipulation is Jonin level, none of them could even hope to do it. "No way—" Sasuke swung with his blade as it extended out a great distance. His strikes were so fast they couldn't follow them. They found out what he had done when the 6 stone weapons their arms held fell to pieces before their eyes.

Naruto was grinning widely. "I got the rest Sasuke, just follow behind me." He put his hands together and made 3 clones. This time they didn't fall over though, being ready for the chains. Naruto and his first clone put their hands near each other, while the other clones began spinning the chakra into a massive blue orb of chakra. The two "spinner" clones vanished leaving only Naruto and the clone which was helping to hold the Odama Rasengan. They quickly charged the giant with Sasuke following behind, giving them plenty of slack on the chain. The giant tried to move, but it couldn't look away from Sasuke's red eyes, glued to the spot by the Genjutsu. The sphere smashed into the giant and engulfed it. After it the smoke and dust cleared Naruto and Sasuke could see the three rock Genin unconscious but alive.

They walked over to their bodies and liberated the key.

* * *

After their victory Naruto and Sasuke began heading South-east again. As they approached the building, they heard the noises of a battle. Naruto was curious, But Sasuke didn't want to waste any time. When a shrill scream echoed through the canyon, Naruto forced Sasuke to stop and demanded that they go investigate. Sasuke thought it was stupid, but relented for ease of travel. 

When they found the battle it was already over. There were three cloud-nin, chained together standing over the unconscious forms of Matsuri and her teammates. The cloud nin in front was holding a kunai and was preparing to finish the sand-nin off. Naruto dived in to help, almost dragging Sasuke with him. He grabbed the cloud-nin's arm just in time to stop him. The enemies were surprised by the sudden intervention. The one who had been about to perform the act jumped back to be closer to his teammates. Naruto turned his back on them and looked over the sand shinobi.

"Is that really so wise? To turn your back to the opposition?" It was the one who had been about to kill Matsuri who said this. Naruto stood and turned back to them. Naruto tossed something lightly to the cloud-nin and he caught it. It was the key for Matsuri's team. "heh, you think I need this? These brats were the fifth team we've taken down. We started breaking these little keys to save time." He was laughing. One of his teammates stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Naruto couldn't explain it but this other cloud-nin looked familiar. "Kouumaru, leave them, we have done enough."

Kouumaru looked back at his team. "Fine then Ikazuchi. But if either of us get him in the final rounds to bad for you."

Ikazuchi nodded and turned to face Naruto. "My name is Ikazuchi Waiya. Is that at all familiar to you?" Naruto shook his head. "I see, then I will make this quick. You killed my brother." Naruto remembered the mission he had been on just a month or so ago. "Do not be alarmed, revenge is not my goal. As a deserter he deserved death. I merely wish to face the man who was able to kill him, and see what he is made of." He turned and began to walk away, taking his teammates with him. As he was walking away Naruto could see the strange shield on his back.

Once they were gone he turned his attention back to Matsuri. To his surprise Sasuke was already helping them and checking for serious injuries. "Mostly just mild burns and a few scrapes, they were knocked out from pain, lightning jutsu. They will be fine, but they should be moved to somewhere they can be cared for." Naruto didn't hesitate, picking up the two boys, while Sasuke picked up Matsuri.

As they continued towards the finish line Naruto felt a need to speak. "Thank you, Sasuke."

"You would be useless if your conscience were preoccupied elsewhere, and these chains would insure that I would be dragged down with you." Naruto heard this, but entertained the notion that deep down Sasuke wanted to help them too.

* * *

A/N: Next chappie training begins, all over again. 


	22. Reprieve

A/N: This chapter is almost entirely one giant cliff hanger for the final rounds. It also gives me a chance to show the differences between the NaruHina couple and the SasuSaku couple.

Reviews: This update came so fast there were only two updates for the previous chapter up.

Abomb: thanks

Jennie: your wish is granted. Albeit in fast forward.

Note: minor sexual content blah blah blah its rated M for a reason and I've put two lemons so I don't think I really need this.

* * *

Chapter 22: Reprieve

'_I have seen him. I was not impressed.'_

'_You see I told you he was nothing to ma—'_

'_I wasn't impressed; he didn't look like he could possibly have fought against one of ours. I will see his true mettle in the finals.'_

'_Do you really think it wise to let the boy go like this? He will be training harder then ever for this month. He will be stronger then ever at its conclusion. Why wait? We should take his creature now.'_

'_There is more to this situation that what you see with your eyes. I do not need to justify my actions. Or do you think I do?'_

'_Of course not sir'_

'_Good. What of five and eight?'_

'_I am dealing with that personally leader; there is no need to worry.'_

'_Excellent. Dismissed.'

* * *

_

"Of the 19 teams that entered the second stage of this Chunin exam, only three teams have passed. A note of particular interest is that one of the teams only has two members, which brings the final number of Genin moving into the finals a fortuitous 8. As is common practice the participants will be pitted in a tournament style grading exercise that will allow the leaders of these villages to ascertain the worthiness of the applicants for becoming Chunin. This tournament will be held one moth from today, in the coliseum here in Iwagakure. All teams are dismissed." That was what the Tsuchikage, in person, said to them.

Naruto listened to it, standing with Sasuke and Shizune who had been sent to fill in as their Jonin sensei. "Why didn't they send Kakashi?"

Shizune had answered, "He's been busy with his other team." Naruto remembered how he had been reassigned to team 10 with Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji.

As soon as he could he went to see how Matsuri and her team were doing. Their Jonin had been taking care of them since Naruto and Sasuke had brought them to the finish of the second test. He had been very thankful, even going so far as to say that they had saved his life. "Why would you say something like that?"

The Jonin laughed nervously, "Don't tell them, but the honorable Kazekage-sama favors this girl. He warned me to make sure she was ready for them to take the exams, told me that if any extraneous harm came to them he would have me executed for negligence. I didn't think he could really do that, but the look in his eye…" The man shivered, which was enough for Naruto to understand. He could remember a time when Garaa had that effect on him too.

Soon after that he had a run in with one of the other teams that had passed into this stage. They approached him, and one of them bumped into his shoulder as h passed, and whispered so that Naruto could hear, "Leaves shall be ground into dust by the stones." They walked away after that.

* * *

Hinata had continued to live in Naruto's apartment during the days he was gone. She was bothered by Naruto's absence, but she had passed the time with Sakura. She found she had a much better time hanging out with another girl then she did with the other members of her squad. Kiba in particular had become annoying, continuously and loudly chiding Hinata over her new relationship. Sakura on the other hand was very pleasant and kind.

Only five days after his departure Naruto returned, triumphant in the first part of the exam. He met her with a smile and a hug, before they walked together to Ichiraku's for some food. She had only briefly seen Sasuke before he vanished. At Ichiraku's Naruto ordered his food and spent the rest of the time either shoveling it down or bragging about his "cool moves" during the exams. When he was finished he patted his belly and looked at Hinata, who besides short giggles or nods had been unresponsive.

"When we were coming home Sasuke said something to me. He told me that when we faced in the finals, he wouldn't hold back. I've got to get stronger then him in the next month. And I need you're help Hinata." That got her attention.

"Me?"

"Yeah, because I think there is something only you can help me with." He was looking straight at her, his face so serious Hinata was a little scared.

Not afraid of him, but afraid that she would disappoint him. "What can I do Naruto?"

* * *

Sakura didn't even know he was getting back. She just came home and he was there on the couch. It startled her, before she realized who he was, and then she just stared at him for a moment. He didn't even react to her presence. She sat down in front of him and remained equally as silent. She had decided when he left that the next time he came back she would beat him at his own game, and simply refuse to say anything to him. She wanted to force him to start the conversation.

They sat for a very long time. Eventually Sasuke broke the silence. "Have you seen Kakashi?"

It was such a joy that she had one and forced Sasuke to talk first that she actually didn't listen to what he said. "I'm sorry what?"

Sasuke didn't look annoyed. "Kakashi. Have you seen him?"

She didn't really understand why this was important. "Not recently, why?"

Sasuke was giving her his usual dead face gaze. "It can never hurt to get stronger before facing Naruto. I was under the impression that he had somehow obtained a Mangekyo Sharingan, I was interested in how."

Sakura knew about this as well. "Yes, that's true, though he didn't say how he gained that power. I thought he must have just trained to unleash it somehow."

Sasuke's dead face was slipping; she could see him becoming distressed. "Impossible. To gain the Mangekyo Sharingan, one must kill their closest friend. That is what it said."

Sakura didn't really know how to respond to this. "Kill your best… Is that what Itachi told you? Why you wouldn't kill Naruto?"

She could see from his face that she was right. But she couldn't believe that Kakashi could possibly kill his closest friend.

* * *

A promise to Naruto was something absolute to Hinata. But at the same time she doubted herself. Could she really do what Naruto asked of her? And an even deeper fear, what if someone in the Hyuga clan find out about it? It was already common knowledge that she was living with Naruto since she left the Hyuga compound, and she imagined her father had taken her last words to him quite literally, and would no doubt be denouncing her in any of the family circles. But at the same time allowing the Byakugan to leave the clans grounds was unforgivable.

It was dawn; Naruto was denouncing all of his normal training for this special session with her. How could she explain it to him? How had Neji explained it to her? That was a good place to start.

* * *

Sasuke had asked around town, no one had seen Kakashi. He had finally found a member of team ten, Shikamaru, who Sakura had told him Kakashi had been assigned to. "Shikamaru."

Shikamaru turned and saw who had addressed him. "Sasuke?' What could he want?

Sasuke was standing in front of him now. "Where is Kakashi?"

Shikamaru looked at him for a moment. "Why? No, never mind I don't wanna know. Kakashi-sensei was called away for a special mission, top secret. We've been taking missions from Guy-sensei and Neji Hyuga recently. It's been troublesome, especially Guy."

"Thank you, I know to stop looking now." Sasuke went away.

* * *

She explained it as best as she could, it had been so much easier to learn for her because she could actually watch the process with her Byakugan. Naruto completely surprised her though. After her explanation and demonstrations were done, Naruto stepped away and performed a Taiju Shadow Clone jutsu. The training field they had chosen was filled with a small army of Narutos who got to work trying what she had taught him.

He was amazing; within hours some of the clones were getting it to work. He dismissed the clones and after a short nap demonstrated that he almost had it mastered. "Now" he said, "comes the hard part." He created more clones and each began varying it slightly to try and achieve the desired results.

She was so stuck in awe watching the Naruto army train she didn't even notice that one had walked up behind her. He tapped her on the shoulder and she spun in surprise. He was holding the training apparatus she had made during one of their previous training sessions. "So were you able to get to this level while I was gone?"

She was actually hurt that she had failed Naruto's expectations of her. "No." In fact Hinata was still unable to loose a kunai from a tree without damaging the bark.

Naruto never stopped smiling. "Well come on then lets get to work. The best part about this jutsu is I can watch and help you even while I train!" His cheer spread to her, and she agreed, walking away with Naruto to train herself.

When they were gone the Naruto army turned in on itself, and they all nodded at other, randomly selected Narutos. There was no need for her to know about that just yet.

* * *

Without Kakashi, Sasuke doubted there was anyone in all of Konoha who could teach him anything. However he had found of something he would need to do. A training regiment that would be vital to defeating Naruto. Naruto and his wind chakra.

* * *

one month later...

* * *

Naruto was leaving tomorrow to return to Iwagakure for the finals. He had just woken up and grabbed onto Hinata's slender frame. "No training today ok. I want to spend every minute with you." He held her tightly, making fists in the material of her nightgown. They got up and dressed. They ate breakfast. Then they left his home and went all over town enjoying the time together.

* * *

Sakura was awake, but she didn't move. She was far too comfortable in Sasuke's arms. They hadn't actually had sex again after the first time. But every night he was there in her bed and holding her. This was the last day before he was going back to Iwa, and she wanted to guilt him into spending time with her. She stayed in his arms for a while but decided to stir. He had been so exhausted from his training that he would now never wake up before Sakura.

Because of Sasuke's tired state, she was able to trap him into breakfast with her every morning by having it ready before he came downstairs. While he was eating, Sakura would spark some conversation. It was always very one sided, but sometimes she could get more out of him then a grunt. He had once even stayed past when the food was eaten to tell her about life with Orochimaru, which she had asked about. He went into great detail about the constant training and tests. Sasuke even mentioned some of the other ninja. "Most of them were just as sadistic as Orochimaru. There was no loyalty in Otogakure. Just power. No loyalty at all."

"What's wrong Sasuke?" She could always tell something was wrong when he started showing emotion. Though the drugs in his system that were suppressing them were completely gone by now, he was so used that way of presenting himself that it was still second nature to him.

"It was during the tests. One of them was a test of loyalty to your home village. I understood this, but I couldn't say it. Naruto saved us right then. I couldn't do it…"

"Why not?"

"It would have been a lie."

Sakura gasped a little when he said this. She then looked down at her hands. "So then why are you here?" A small fluttering hope in her hoped he would say it was her.

"Naruto."

Sakura's insides churned for a moment. "What?"

"I need him for…It's none of your business."

Sakura comprehended this as Sasuke got up and began going out for his training. Just as he was about to leave her sight she said the word that came to her mind, "Bait?"

It caused Sasuke to stop, but not to respond. He left slowly, confirming her assumption.

The conversations had been mostly grunts again after that, but she was determined to catch him in a real conversation today.

Breakfast was ready and Sasuke came in and sat down to eat.

Sakura was already half way through her small meal and finished quickly. "So, Sasuke, are you ready for the finals."

He paused in his eating to say "I'm not worried about anything but my match with him. Then I will see what I'm really able to do."

"Do you think you can beat him?"

"Yes, but I also think he can beat me."

'_So he doesn't know'_ "Well I want you to win Sasuke."

"Wh…never mind.

"No, go ahead ask me,"

"Why would you want me to win over Naruto?"

"You're so stupid Sasuke."

Sasuke looked with a start at her. "What?"

"I always want you to succeed. I always want you to win. I always have."

"Oh yes of course." '_Even after that night I do not reciprocate her affections, and yet she still shows them. Truly you are blind Sakura.'_ He continued to eat.

Sakura still wanted to talk to him. "So what kind of new abilities have you been working on?"

"Secrets." He said it quickly between bites.

Sakura didn't want to pester, she had to change subjects. "Why haven't you been wearing your Konoha headband?"

Sasuke froze for a moment, and swallowed. "We've gone over this. I failed that part of the test remember?"

She remembered the conversation. "The headband is more then a show of loyalty. It is also a show of status and power. Wearing this headband means I acknowledge that you are my equal." She hoped he would recognize the last part.

Of course he did. Those were the words he had told to Naruto before their fight at the valley of the end. "Thank you Sakura. You really are the best." He got up and left, leaving most of his food on the plate, and Sakura frozen in place.

* * *

Hinata was lying with Naruto, in his bed, naked. They were both naked and sweaty and tired. Her body tingled all over itself and she felt a strange rubbery feeling in her spine. They panted in synchrony, something that had developed on its own after their fifth time. This was their seventh time, she had counted every one. And every time after it was over Hinata rolled into Naruto burying her face in his chest. Then he would nuzzle his nose into the top of her hair while he wrapped his arms around her, and would kiss her on the top of her head just before falling asleep. Hinata would drift asleep after that, listening to his rhythmic breathing and heartbeat.

* * *

As every other night he made no attempt to take her again. He undressed and redressed into what he slept in, which was just a shirt and boxers. He then brought his legs up and underneath the sheets. Every night he made the token resistance and waited a few minutes. But always, always, he snaked his arms around Sakura and molded his body around hers. That was all that ever happened. Tonight though something slightly different occurred. Sasuke asked her, "Turn a little."

Sakura turned her head and twisted her body. He surprised her with a kiss on the lips. She enjoyed it so much after he had been so cold for so long. It was too short; he broke it and forced her to turn back away from him with his arms. Sakura wanted more so badly, but knew that trying to hard would only push him away like last time she had tried something. It was the only night since moving in with her that they had slept apart from each other. _'Take whatever he gives. Cherish it. Hold onto those moments tightly. Someday he will leave and he may never come back. I have to at least have these memories of him?'

* * *

_

The day was here. Naruto and Sasuke had purposefully avoided talking to each other since they arrived. An unspoken agreement so that neither of them would have any idea what was coming for their match. As they were about to depart the ninja posted at the gate spoke up. "Hold on you two. There's a surprise coming just give it a few minutes."

Sure enough minutes later a small group, with a single horse drawn carriage, came up to the gate from inside the city. The group that surrounded the carriage was a made up of Hinata, Sakura, Kiba, and Shino. Inside the carriage was Tsunade herself, wearing the traditional Hokage clothing. Naruto was scratching his head. "What is all this?"

Tsunade answered him, "Don't you remember anything Naruto? The kage of each village with ninja participating in the final rounds attends the event personally, with a small escort of hand selected body guards. Now, less questioning more moving, we've got an exam to get to."

* * *

A/N: The finals are coming… 


	23. Naruto Round 1

A/N: Well The finals are starting up and I go over the first two matches in this chappie.

Special note: I make most of my character names and any other Japanese word adaptations using a handy site that translates stuff from english into romaized japanese. I just plug in the word and pick from the results at random. Not very accurate but it's the best I can do. I even do this to get names; most of the people are named as puns in the Japanese I get from that translator. I tried to put the URL in hrer but the damn document editor is being stupid and won't let me. Anyone know why?

Reviews:

Dragon: Remember it wasn't the rasengan that defeated the rock-nin during the wars; it was the Flying Thunder God Jutsu.

JonJ: Its lots of fun torturing you too.

Sage: I intend to. Thanks for reading.

* * *

Chapter 23: Naruto: Round 1 

"Tsunade obasan, I wanted to ask you something." She turned to face Naruto. "Who is Arashi Uzumaki?"

She looked at him for long moment and then turned her head to break the eye contact. "If you know that name you already know who he was."

Naruto was trying to remain calm. "Yes, but who is he as far as I'm concerned?"

Tsunade turned back to face Naruto again. "You know the names of the Akimchi, the Naara, the Aburame, the Hyuga, and the Inuzuka clan correct? This is because these are families with special hidden jutsu and a long history of ninja. There is no such history attached to the name Uzumaki. They were just a family of inconspicuous people living out normal lives in Konoha. And then Arashi came out of that family and wanted to be a ninja. He enrolled in the academy and graduated. He was quickly recognized as a genius and moved quickly through ninja circles. And then The Third chose Arashi as his successor, completely shocking everyone. Arashi hadn't even been interested in the position; he had just wanted to remain a teacher to his Genin. After that, he was almost never referred to by his name, instead known as The Fourth." Naruto was looking more and more dissatisfied with her answer. "I know what you want to hear Naruto. The familial ties between you and Yondaime Hokage are thin, as far as he was able to tell, you were something of a distant cousin to him. Somewhere back you had a common relative and the name was preserved. During the attack of the Kyuubi everyone who was named Uzumaki was slaughtered, except you and him. He chose you to serve as the vessel—"

"In the hopes that I would be treated like a hero. Thank you, Tsunade obasan." He left then.

* * *

The Iwagakure coliseum was already packed with spectators when they arrived. Sasuke and Naruto took their positions down in the field where the match order would be determined shortly. Shino and Kiba were standing up in the VIP box with Tsunade, while Hinata and Sakura had taken positions in the upper balcony overlooking the arena. Tsunade had been very kind when she greeted the Tsuchikage and Raikage, more to the former who looked very tense around her. Once they were all seated they began watching the field, anxious for things to start. 

The head proctor walked forward and addressed the eight participants. "Congratulations on making it this far. These final matches give your Kages and teachers and chance to see how far you've come and to find if you are truly worthy of being Chunin. Without further delay, the matches will be randomly selected now." A large monitor in the upper parts of the coliseum turned on and illustrated the classic eight man tournament tree. At the bottom where the lines ended the eight names appeared and began shuffling randomly. After a few moments they stopped.

"Right then. Round one will be Konoha's Naruto Uzumaki vs. Iwa's Kafuku Ishi. Round two will be Iwa's Chinou Hikaku vs. Kumo's Kouumaru Shushi. Round three will be Kumo's Ikazuchi Waiya vs. Konoha's Sasuke Uchiha. Round four will be Kumo's Mizore Ashi vs. Iwa's Chuushin Haji. We will begin the first round now, the other participants are asked to leave the battle field and watch from the upper balcony of the coliseum."

Naruto looked at the coliseum area. Mostly a plain flat open space, though along the edges there were some jagged rocks that could serve as hideouts. His opponent, Kafuku, was hunchbacked but so large he was still as tall as Naruto. The proctor held his arm out, "BEGIN!" then jumped away.

Naruto jumped back and threw a few kunai at the rock-nin. Kafuku jumped back and landed near the edge of the arena, on top of one of the large rocks. Kafuku squatted down and punched into the rock with a mighty fist, breaking off the top and grabbing it. With the large rock in Kafuku's hand Naruto prepared to dodge, but was caught off guard when Kafuku bit into the rock, tearing out a large chunk with his mighty teeth and chewing it up. Naruto was slightly sick when he saw Kafuku actually swallow the stone.

"What the…" Naruto was staring in disbelief as hi opponent continued to methodically eat the rock until it was all gone.

Kafuku met Naruto's gaze and smiled. He quickly formed some hand seals and called out "Stone Body Jutsu!!" His arms bulged and changed in color, taking on the texture and pigment of stone. The extra weight in his arms caused him to hunch even further then normal until his hands touched the ground. With his arms slightly longer and his new posture, he looked something like a large ape.

Using his new arms for increased momentum, Kafuku launched himself across the arena at Naruto. Naruto moved swiftly to the side and formed his hand seal. "Shadow clone jutsu!" Four clones appeared and all five Naruto's charged Kafuku. He destroyed the first two clones, smashing them into the ground with his great arms. While his arms were down two Narutos ran up them like ramps and punched him in the face, and then jumped away. With the road clear the real Naruto ran up and punched him in the gut, hard. Kafuku was thrown back by the attack and had to catch his balance.

Kafuku jumped towards the wall again, and broke a much larger portion of rock out for his digestion. Naruto wasn't about to let him get any stronger, he and his clones charge at him again. Kafuku was about to bite into the rock, when he suddenly shifted and threw it at the Narutos instead. It bowled through two of the clones and distracted the other three well enough that Kafuku was able to hide somewhere.

Naruto and his clones went silent, and it wasn't long before they heard the loud crunch and crack of rocks being eaten. The three of them followed the sounds and leapt up and over one of the larger rocky edifices. Sure enough behind it Kafuku was gorging himself on stone and had a coat of stony armor that now covered most of his torso as well. The clones pulled out shuriken and sent them flying at him, but he just stood there and let them reflect off of his hardened body. Kafuku laughed at this attempt while Naruto and his clones landed. "Is this all? Chinou was right, you leaf-nin will be crushed. He told you that didn't he?" Naruto remembered his previous encounter with these ninja. "Heheh, time for me to really show off my family's technique." He rushed at Naruto, pulling himself along the ground with his arms. When he reached the Narutos he reared up and slammed his fists down, but all of the Naruto's dodged away.

His fists however sank cleanly into the ground, and rocky fists emerged from the ground where the other clones had leapt to. These fists grabbed their legs. Kafuku pulled his arms out of the ground, leaving no hole from where they had sunk in, but the arms around the clones legs would not relent. Naruto dismissed his clone and ran towards Kafuku, kicking him in the chest. Kafuku made no effort to block the attack, and Naruto knew why. The rocky skin was so tough Naruto couldn't even dent it. HE grabbed Kafuku's shoulders and jumped over him, landing on the large rock Kafuku had been hiding behind.

The rocky portions of Kafuku were growing; it wouldn't be long before it covered his whole body. "I'll just have to make this quick. Shadow clone jutsu." The shadow clone spun his chakra, giving Naruto a rasengan. Naruto leapt off the rock and dived towards Kafuku who was rearing his arm back to punch at Naruto. The rasengan met Kafuku's fist.

Naruto went flying away from his opponent, and landed on his back near the center of the arena. Kafuku jumped out from behind the rocks and landed facing Naruto, clenching his fist. "A strong attack to be sure, but not strong enough to break this shell. This rock isn't just a solid barrier; it's filled with my chakra, so it repairs itself even as it takes damage. You'll never beat me with that thing."

Naruto stood up and looked down at his hand which was marred slightly. His opponent had pushed so hard on the Rasengan it had been shoved back into his own hand. That's why he had to get rid of it and take the hit. "Fine then, though I thought it would be too early to use this yet." Naruto made six clones, four of which each ran off and started to attack Kafuku.

Hinata, watching from the stands, recognized what was about to happen, this was one of the things she had watched him train. Naruto closed his eyes and stood still for a moment, before holding out his hand to create another rasengan. Once it was made he held it out in front of him, and each clone put their hands around it. They pulled back, breaking the sphere and changing it into something new. Naruto dispersed all but the clones that were with him in order to refuel his chakra and get used to Kafuku's movements speed. The chakra in his hand was no loner sphere, but had become a cone with its tip in front of Naruto's hand and extending back. Wisps of chakra could be seen spiraling and outlining the cone, showing that the cone was still spinning quite rapidly. The clones next to Naruto nodded and charged, with the real Naruto right behind them. Kafuku defended knocking away the clones, but the real Naruto was coming up.

Kafuku raised his arm and punched at Naruto, who like wise struck out with his spinning cone. They met for a moment. And the rocks began to be torn apart. Naruto altered his aim slightly, drilling by Kafuku's arm and shredding it quite badly, but not through the arm as he had been about to. After his thrust he landed behind Kafuku, his weapon disintegrated. Naruto turned and looked at Kafuku, who was clutching his arm. "Rasenyari" Kafuku turned just in time to see Naruto kick him in the head, as still unarmored part of his body.

Kafuku fell to the ground unconscious and bleeding. The proctor stepped forward. "Match over, winner, Naruto Uzumaki." There was applause and cheering, and Hinata held tightly to the railing as Naruto walked off the field.

Naruto walked off the field through the door that had been opened. On his way out he passed by one of the other rock-nin. "So, you beat up Kafuku pretty bad." Naruto recognized his voice. It was the one who had taunted him before. "There are still two of us in there. Don't count us so lightly."

Another voice spoke in the echoing hallway. "Don't be messing with him. Your match is with me." It was Kouumaru, the cloud-nin who had been about to kill Matsuri. Kouumaru could see Naruto's anger towards him. "Don't worry hero boy, you're my next opponent."

"And what makes you think you will beat me?" The rock-nin didn't like being brushed aside.

"Well let's go find out." Kouumaru was laughing a little as he walked out onto the field.

Naruto hurried up to the balcony, he hadn't missed any of the action. Hinata worked her way over to where Naruto was standing and watching. AS she approached he didn't turn to her. "Naruto-kun?"

He looked back and saw her. "HEY HINATA-CHAN WAS I AWESOME OR WHAT?!?!?!"

She sighed in relief and walked over to lean on the bar next to him. "Yeah, amazing."

Naruto was smiling broadly as he looked back down at the arena where the next match was underway. His vision was immediately impaired. The rock-nin, Chinou, had used a jutsu to create a large dust cloud which filled the entire arena and made visibility zero. Naruto grunted, but continued his conversation with Hinata. "If he had been able to deflect that I would have had to use what I learned from you."

Hinata was still apprehensive about what she had shown Naruto how to do. But she wanted to push those thoughts away. "Naruto, do you want to know what's happening?" He looked at her, confused at first been then smiled as he looked into her eyes. He nodded, and Hinata turned back on the dust cloud. "Byakugan!"

She could see them. "Chinou is beating up Kouumaru pretty badly; I think he can trace him through the sounds he makes. Wait, something's happening. Chinou is stopping; it looks like he can't move. Kouumaru is walking right for him. He just punched him once in the chest, but Chinou is down." The dust cloud cleared quickly, and Kouumaru was standing over a defeated Chinou.

Kouumaru was smiling wildly. "Hey proctor, this guy needs help I think I stopped his heart." The proctor quickly declared Kouumaru the winner and rushed to help Chinou.

Naruto looked a little shocked. "One punch to the chest?" Hinata nodded, looking slightly frightened.

* * *

A/N: Looks like Kouumaru has a few tricks up his sleeves, Naruto will have to deal with that. But the next chappie is featuring Sasuke in action. 

In depth: Rasenyari (Spiraling spear): By breaking the shell that holds the Rasengan's shape, It transforms into an elongated spear like shape. The sharper point means that the all the preesure normally spread out along the entire sphere is instead focused into one point of impact which can pierce stronger defenses. However the technique is overall less efficient then a standard Rasnegan, because once the shell is broke chakra begins to siphon away and leave the spear, so it must be continuously fed chakra in order to maintain it. Like the normal Rasengan, the Rasenyari is an incomplete jutsu, being nothing but spatial recomposition with no nature manipulation added to it.


	24. Sasuke round 1

A/N: Sasuke's battle is coming up here, but it isn't that long. I also thought I'd mention that Mizore and Chuushin of the other teams are actually girls; I just hadn't specified it before. That's one of the weaknesses of reading this as text instead of a manga. The genders can get a little confusing. But pictures didn't stop people from thinking that Haku and Deidara were chicks so whatever.

Reviews:

Jon: Sorry, but it's a very special trick and Naruto is saving it for when he really needs it.

Jeanie: about your last query. Maybe…

Dragon: Makes sense.

* * *

Chapter 24: Sasuke: Round 1 

"Well, it's my turn already." Sasuke had been watching the fights. He was surprised to see Naruto pull out a new version of the Rasengan like that, but wasn't to worried. Lowering the surface area only meant he had less to dodge. The second match was odd, and quick, demonstrating a clear difference in ability. Whatever this Kouumaru could do, it was effective. Now it was his turn.

"Good luck."

Sasuke turned and saw that Sakura had found him. He had purposefully his himself in the shady side of the covered balcony. Then again, where else would she look for him? Still, he nodded to her before he jumped out over the crowds and flew into the arena center. His opponent entered the traditional way, through the tunnel. Sasuke saw him chide Kouumaru as they passed. He clearly did not approve of something.

Ikazuchi walked to the center of the arena to face Sasuke. "I had hoped to face your partner. Since Kouumaru has received that honor in my place, I will have to settle for you."

"There is no honor awaiting your friend. Only defeat. The same is true for you." Sasuke was tensing up, preparing to end this in a single blow.

The proctor placed his arm out. "Sasuke Uchiha vs. Ikazuchi Waiya. BEGIN!"

Sasuke was so fast he had to dodge under the proctor's still outstretched arm after he heard the go for combat. Once he reached his opponent, he had drawn his sword and had shoved the blade through his opponent's right leg. An incapacitating wound. Ikazuchi cried out in pain and surprise. Sasuke drew his sword back and jumped back, swinging the blade to clean away the blood. Ikazuchi fell to one knee and coddled the leg that had been marred. "You are fast. I will have to stop you to beat you."

Sasuke looked at his hobbled enemy. "How will you fight if you cannot stand?"

The cloud-nin actually smiled. He leaned farther forward, now on all fours, his body parallel to the ground. "A bird doesn't need legs to fly." He lifted one hand off the ground and slid it under the shield that was on his back. When he brought it back out he had a wire in his hand which he pulled out to the full length that his arm would reach. When it was fully stretched, he released it, and it snapped back under the shield. The shield began to spin wildly, and several kunai poked out from underneath it. After a moment of this the Kunai launched out with great speed.

Sasuke dodged quickly to the side, and even so the high speed projectile ripped a hole in his flowing sleeves. His sleeve ripped further as he moved away from the path the Kunai had followed. He saw that wires were attached to the ends of each of the daggers and he could trace them back to the shield. Each of the kunai had launched in a different direction, and gone so far as to imbed in either the arena walls or the rocks around them. Each had a wire that connected back under the shield on Ikazuchi's back.

The wires tensed up, and then loosened slightly. Then they did something odd. As if each wire were a leg, they lifted up Ikazuchi until he was hovering in their, the wires bending around him so that he was up right. He brought his injured leg up and tied a shred of clothing around it to slow the bleeding. "I am not so weak." Ikazuchi pulled something else from under the shield as well, an iron rod. He lashed out with the rod once and it extended out to nearly three times its length, making it about the same size as Sasuke's sword. "My family's secret art. WIRE CONDUCTION JUTSU!!" The wires began to glow dimly in the daylight. "AND THE SECOND TECHNIQUE! BOLT TRANSFER JUTSU!!!"

He swung the iron bar over his head, connecting it to one of the wires as he did. The point of contact began to glow brightly, and the bar was continuing its arc and would disconnect in moments. Something told Sasuke to move so he jumped to the side, just as the pole disconnected from the wire. As it did, a lightning bolt struck out and seared the ground where Sasuke had been standing. There were murmurs of surprise from the crowd. Ikazuchi was swinging the pole again, continuing his attack. Sasuke was forced to keep moving fairly rapidly to avoid the lightning attacks. However he was drawing close to Ikazuchi. Once he was close enough he jumped up after an attack, during the delay he would get more then close enough to attack and fully incapacitate his opponent.

Ikazuchi saw his approach, and was already prepared, just as Sasuke jumped the wires twisted, putting Ikazuchi outside the cage they formed and meaning Sasuke was headed straight for a net of wires that were ready to stop him and electrocute him. Sasuke saw this change in events and adjusted his plan accordingly. He dropped his sword and formed hand seals, "Katon: FIREBALL JUTSU!!!" (I know the last time he did this I put Katon as Fire Style, but I decided here that Katon sounded cooler.)

The fireball shot up through the wire net, while Sasuke was propelled downward by the release of energy. The wires bent to move Ikazuchi out of the way of the fireball, and then were cut loose and he fell to the arena floor. The fireball had melted through the wires destroying them. When he landed Sasuke picked up his sword and hurried over to where Ikazuchi had come down. The cloud-nin was already reaching back behind the shield again. Sasuke grabbed his arm and pulled it forward breaking it with a blow from the hilt of his sword. He then reached onto Ikazuchi's back and tore the shield away, destroying the mechanisms inside which had made it function.

Sasuke was victorious, and the proctor knew it. "The winner is Sasuke Uchiha of Konoha." The crowd applauded the show they had just been witness to lightly; it wasn't what they had been expecting.

Sasuke leapt out of the arena, all the way back up to the balcony where he had been before. Sakura was not there to greet him.

* * *

Mizore rushed out to help her fallen comrade off the field before her own match began. At the same time Chuushin was walking out onto the field, taking position near the proctor. Once Ikazuchi was removed from the field Mizore turned and ran to take position as well. The Kunoichi stared each other down while the proctor prepared to give them the signal to go.

* * *

Sakura had spotted Naruto and Hinata after Sasuke went down to fight, so she decided to go over there and talk with them. She watched Sasuke's match out as she walked, and was surprised he was able to end it so quickly. He jumped back up to the balcony she had just left right as she reached Naruto and Hinata. "Hi, Naruto, Hinata." 

Naruto was angry. "That guy sucked, Sasuke didn't show off anything I didn't already know he could do. So he knows one of my new tricks and I got nothing."

Hinata didn't know how to respond to that. Sakura looked across the coliseum to see Sasuke looking down at the field, examining his next opponent. "He wants to get through things quickly. He wants to fight you, Naruto."

He nodded. "Yeah."

* * *

"BEGIN!" The proctor jumped back. Chuushin was the first to move, rushing at her opponent with a kunai drawn. Mizore dodged and jumped away, pulling out a scroll as she did. She unraveled the scroll and left a trail of blood along it, having bitten her thumb. The scrolls markings disappeared as a large amount of water spilled form the scroll and splashed over the ground. IT flowed as if coming from a hose and soaked a good portion of the arena ground in water. Oddly, the water did not get absorbed by the dirt, instead settling on top of it. Mizore was able to slide across the water as if she were figure skating, and Chuushin was slipping and sliding on the strange surface, unable to balance or even punch through to the ground. 

Mizore was fast approaching sliding gracefully along the surface. She drew out a kunai and prepared to slice Chuushin as she slid past. Chuushin was smiling however. Just as Mizore slid close, Chuushin pulled out a kunai and dug it into the slippery stuff, giving her self an unexpected spin, which enabled her to actually grab Mizore's arm and hold on as they slid, now joined. Chuushin dragged Mizore down and kicked off of her, gaining enough momentum to go flying right off the boundary of the strange substance. Mizore righted her self and made some hand seals. The patch of water began to move and was attempting to slide under Chuushin again.

Chuushin rolled away and got on her feet, jumping onto the rocks by the arena edge. To her satisfaction, the water pooled around the base of the rock but didn't try to climb up the side, making this a safe spot for the moment. She looked at her opponent, who had skated to a halt in the very center of the pool. "What are the odds that the only two girls to get this far would have to face each other like this?" Mizore didn't respond. "What are the odds that we would both use water in our jutsu?" That caught Mizore's attention. Chuushin made hand seals and held out a focus sign.

The pool began to react violently. Mizore fell onto her behind and actually sank through the surface. Chuushin held the hand sign but jumped off the rock, landing cleanly on the ground. The water was beginning to pool around her and behind her in a gigantic mass. It gathered until she opened her eyes to stare at the petrified Mizore. She formed new hand seals, and a large amount of earth was gathered into the water as well, turning it into a giant mud blob. "Doton: Crashing mud flow!" The mass of mud flew over Chuushin's head and smashed down onto Mizore before she could dodge. It smothered her and she disappeared from sight.

The proctor counted to 20, long enough to tell she wasn't coming out of there on her own. "Winner, Chuushin Haji of Iwa." As soon as he said this he rushed over and cleared the mud away with his own technique. Mizore was in the clot, unconscious but breathing once there was air. He handed her off to the paramedics that had come out. The large screen that hung over the Coliseum showed the advancement of those who had one, and then the tree shrunk down to show only a four person tier.

He spoke up in a loud voice so that everyone could hear him. "The second set of matches will now begin. The fifth round will be Konoha's Naruto Uzumaki vs. Kumo's Kouumaru Shushi. The sixth round will be Konoha's Sasuke Uchiha vs. Iwa's Chuushin Haji. The fifth round will begin now, will the participants please report to the arena floor."

* * *

Hinata turned to face Naruto, still afraid for his safety. "Be careful, Naruto-kun." 

He looked back at her smiling broadly "No worries, remember? I can't lose!"

He dived off the balcony and into the arena, leaving Hinata more worried then ever. She had became so intimate with Naruto she could tell his emotions from eve the slightest hints in his appearance. That was not a confident smile. It was a cover up smile. He was just as scared as she was.

* * *

A/N: So the first set's over. That was quick. We've weeded out the weaklings. The next fights won't be so easy for Naruto and Sasuke. Plus, something else might be in the works. 


	25. Naruto Round 2

A/N: Well here we go, tough matches are getting started. To be honest, Kouumaru and Chuushin are well above the level of normal Chuunin, for the unique abilities they posses. I won't spoil it here, but these fights will have Nauto and Sasuke on the ropes.

Reviews:

Jon: I won't make you wait _that_ long. : )

Dragon: Patience. And about yondaime, I guess so, but anyone hit by his Rasengan wouldn't have been in much of a position to be describing it.

Kyuubi-Nana-Useful: Thanks for reading. This chapter's one of the longer ones as far as word count goes. They tend to be short because I update so often. I try to average my chapters to around 2750 words.

* * *

Chapter 25: Naruto: round 2 

Walking among these people was so easy. No one was ever given reason to doubt his integrity. No one could imagine that they would one day be under his heel. But all the same it would come to pass. All he needed to pull it off was a large amount of money, and the souls of a few more demons. How fortuitous that one of them was right in front of him. Blond spiky hair, orange and black jumpsuit, dopey pleasant and unduly joyous smile. That was him, the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko. He didn't look like much. Still this was the man-no the boy who had taken down Kakuzu. That enough was reason to treat him special. The others wouldn't understand, but it was good enough to have them obeying. If this boy was capable of what he thought he was, he should be kept alive for a little longer.

Besides, there were other advantages to having moved the Chunin exams to Iwagakure with some of his political clout. The Hokage had abandoned her position in Konoha, as well as at least eight other closely trusted and powerful ninja. There couldn't be a better time.

'_Zetsu.'_

'_Yes?' **'Yes?'**_

'_Call in the potentials. If they can retrieve Hidan and Kakuzu's rings, they will join our ranks.'_

'_**They are currently in the land of waves.' **'It will take some time for them to get to Konoha and do as you wish.'_

'_Give them three days to complete the mission. If they can't do it within that time they are to try anyway, but don't inform them of the time limit or any change in the mission at all. They are to believe they may take as long as they wish.'_

'_Yes-' **'-leader'**_

Now that that was taken care of all that was left to do was watch Naruto's next match.

* * *

"Hey there Ikazuchi, Mizore. How bad do your buts feel after that stern kicking?" His laughter echoed in the room. The two looked at their teammate, but neither said anything. They had long since learned not to encourage his behavior, and any response would encourage him. His laughter died down. "Well it's my match against that Konoha guy. Not the one that sliced you like a cake the other one. The one who pummeled your brother into pulp and left him to die. Would you like me to get vengeance for you?" 

Ikazuchi could not ignore that. "I have no need for revenge, and even if I did I would never ask someone like you to get it for me. My only goal was to test his strength, to see if it was truly up to par with my family's techniques. When you face him do it for your own reasons."

Kouumaru grinned as wildly as ever. "Ikazuchi, you were a horrible replacement for Raikou. So simple, so droll; are you even capable of fun? Your bro was, he was lots of fun to play with. So I'm going to go have some fun. Bye."

Kouumaru left the room hastily. Mizore spoke up. "He's mad. Ikazuchi-"

"Just pray that Naruto is prepared for this kind of a fight. I wouldn't want an honorable fighter who puts saving his comrade's life before destroying an opponent's losing to that man."

Kouumaru walked out into the arena grounds, facing Naruto who had arrived long before him.

* * *

The Raikage was smiling and even let out a little laugh disguised in a cough. Tsunade was curious. "Have something to say, honorable Raikage-sama?" 

The yellow and white robed Raikage turned slightly to face Tsunade. "I would like to wish fortune upon the pupil of your village. Fortune that he meets only a fate as bad as the last opponent to face Kouumaru, and nothing worse. You are familiar with the Yuukiton, yes?"

The Tsuchikage, seated in the middle of the three chairs turned to face the Raikage. "So, he is one of them then."

The Raikage merely smiled and faced the battlefield once more.

Tsunade turned as well, staring at Naruto. _'It will take more then strength and technique to defeat this opponent Naruto, can you do it?"

* * *

_

The proctor rose his arm high, but just as he was about to drop it Kouumaru interrupted him. "Wait proctor, I wish to extend to Naruto the same offer I gave to my last opponent. Naruto, I will allow you to concede now. If you chose not to I have a wager for you. We will add an additional stipulation that neither of us may concede once the match has begun."

Naruto didn't even blink as he said this. When Kouumaru was done, Naruto reached out his arm and pointed right at the cloud-nin's face. "I don't know what you were thinking but I have no intention of conceding or even losing. So I don't concede and I accept your offer."

The proctor nodded. "You both understand that from this point on I will ignore any and all attempts to forfeit the match?"

They said "Yes" in unison.

"Right then, NARUTO UZUMAKI OF KONOHA AGAINST KOUUMARU SHUSHI OF KUMO. BEGIN!!!" The proctor leapt back.

Naruto used his staple jutsu, and his clones were already charging at Kouumaru. He just smiled, and took the hits. A punch to the gut, a sweeping kick that took him off his feet, a knee into his back, a clone grabbed his shoulders and threw him, then a final clone leapt and launched him into the ground with another punch. Naruto was just amazed; it was the first time in a long time anyone had taken every single hit like that. Kouumaru stood up, scuffled and dirty, but smiling. "Good job, Naruto. I do love shadow clones."

Now Naruto was just confused, he looked at his clones. Each was holding a part of heir body as if it were in some pain. "Mes, what's wrong." One of his other selves answered. "Can't figure it out, it's weird."

"That won't do though; you really need to experience it yourself." Kouumaru rushed suddenly and grabbed the right arm of the clone that had hit him last. After holding his grip for just a second, he pulled out a kunai with his free hand and stabbed the clone in the gut destroying it.

Immediately Naruto's right arm went numb, and fell by his side. He couldn't move it or feel it at all. "What?"

* * *

Sasuke had walked over to where Sakura and Hinata where standing to watch the match. He did so quietly and stealthily. He then stood behind them and watched the beginning of the match. "Yuukiton." His comment shocked the two kunoichi who turned to face Sasuke, relieved when they saw who it was. They hadn't even realized he was there. 

"What was that Sasuke-kun?" Sakura was the one who had asked, Hinata had quickly turned back down to see how Naruto as doing.

Sasuke didn't meet Sakura's eye contact; he just kept watching the match. "It looks like that boy uses Yuukiton, a very rare kekkei genkai, exclusive to Kumogakure. If that's what it is, Naruto is in trouble." Hinata turned around to look at him, worried visibly. "Against the Yuukiton, one must never touch their opponent, to do so is to spell certain doom for you."

Hinata's eyes bulged, and she spun on the spot to look back at Naruto, still clutching his arm.

* * *

Naruto looked at his clones, each of them also had their right arms numbed, whatever that guy did, it was effective. He reasoned that creating new clones would probably still have this affliction, so tat would be a bad idea. "Naruto, you are making this too slow, if you will not attack me, I WILL ATTACK YOU!!!" 

Kouumaru was running towards the next clone. The clone realized with just enough time to dodge that the cloud-nin was aiming to grab his left arm. _'So his goal is to spread whatever he's done to my arm to everywhere else until I can't fight back.' _He remembered what Hinata told him about the previous fight. _'Well, that explains that. That rock guy just pummeled into this guy with his fists, ruining his own arms. Then that guy had a clear shot.'_ His clones continued to dodge away from Kouumaru's attacks. _'Wait, none of their legs are stuck, even though they kicked him. MY SHOES!"_

Naruto knelt down and took off his sandal, then placed it on his left hand. This was all very hard to do with one hand, but luckily Kouumaru was having too much fun playing "it" with the clones to notice. He got it onto his hand and tightened the laces with his teeth. One of the clones who wasn't dodging saw this and emulated it. Naruto charged. Of course Kouumaru saw him coming, but he didn't see the shoe on Naruto's hand. He swung down with his left arm hard into Kouumaru's face and sent him back and onto the ground again. Kouumaru was smiling again despite having a bloody lip, but his grin broke when he saw Naruto continue to use his left arm as if nothing had happened. Then he saw the shoe and laughed.

He laughed as he stood up. "BRILLIANT NARUTO!!!! I've never seen someone defend with a shoe before. I like you, you're good at this." He was still laughing so maniacally it was throwing Naruto off, but his clones were each readying shoes on their hands as well. Naruto was also noticing some feeling returning to his right arm, meaning the numbing effects were only temporary. "But I just can't lose. Raikou would never forgive me." He slammed his hands together and bit his own lip where it was bleeding. Naruto could tell he was building up chakra so he braced himself for an attack.

Kouumaru spit at Naruto. The saliva mixed with blood arced through the air and landed on Naruto's foot. Naruto looked down at his foot and freaked out yelling random gibberish about how gross a move that was finally stopping when he heard that Kouumaru was still laughing. "You'll stop jumping around soon enough Naruto. YUUKITON: BLOOD SHOCK JUTSU!!!" Naruto's leg was suddenly buzzing on his body, and was reduced to numbness in seconds. He fell to his side unable to stand on the paralyzed limb.

* * *

"Definitely Yuukiton." Sasuke was done with his observation of this opponent. 

"What is it Sasuke?"

He didn't know who had asked him so he just answered. "It was a kekkei genkai in the first Raikage; some said it was the Lightning's answer to Fire's Mokuton. It works on mixing water and lightning chakra into a new element, Nerves. Prolonged use weakens the nerve cells of the user, effectively destroying their ability to feel pain. They still feel of course, just nothing that would be considered painful. It also has other abilities. Their bodies become electric conductors whenever they are in combat, any contact with them results in a temporary deadening of the nerve cells in the area around impact. With great enough mastery, they can even control electric charges in parts of their body that aren't even attached to them anymore. Even blood."

Hinata turned to look at the downed Naruto again. "Naruto-kun. Use it."

* * *

Naruto was down. His arm was working again but without his leg he couldn't really move. Almost as soon as he hit the ground Kouumaru threw several kunai, each embedding into and destroying a clone. After that Kouumaru started a sort of jig as he danced over to Naruto. Once he got close he altered his dance to kick Naruto hard in the gut. "Right where your attack landed right." He danced around Naruto again and kicked him again. Like Naruto he was wearing shoes with rubber soles which would not conduct his paralyzing effect. "Where you crushed his insides." Another kick. "So badly that he bled to death internally." Another kick. "While you went and helped his toy." This kick was blocked by Naruto, but he quickly let go as his arm went numb. He had been foolish enough to grab the leg rather then the foot. 

Naruto couldn't really decide what was worse. His laugh, his dance, or his numb aura. It was all horrible. His gut was beginning to hurt terribly, but he couldn't block the kicks, that would just numb him more. His leg wasn't getting any better, the stain of blood and saliva was adhesive to his skin and the shock was continuous, preventing it from going away. _'Well this is great. OW. At least I know why he didn't want me able to concede. OW. What am I thinking? CONCEDE? OW. ALRIGHT THAT'S IT.'_

This time as the kick was coming Naruto prepared to move, and used the momentum from being hit to roll away. He didn't get very far, but he managed to scrape the stuff on his foot off into the dirt. Kouumaru wasn't phased and kept up his dance as he approached Naruto. "Why do you even care about that guy, Raikou, I thought he was the other guy's brother?"

"Ikazuchi is so uptight he made it into some matter of honor. But I have my own reasons for wanting revenge." He was still smiling and dancing slightly, but he wasn't looking at Naruto any more. "She messed up the mission, and we were all punished for it. I did what any perfectionist would do, I removed the weak link. But Raikou knew they would be angry. So he took the blame and ran. Protected me. And then he dies and I get stuck with his snob of a brother and the worthless bitch." He was still smiling madly. "Now you get to die Naruto, and tell Raikou that I miss him."

The feeling had returned to Naruto's leg, and he was kneeling now, trying to stand up but still having difficulty. Kouumaru was right in front of him. It occurred to Naruto that this is exactly how Chinou was positioned after the dust cloud cleared. Kouumaru approached and held out his hand flat palmed. With one last burst of Smiling he reached his arm down, slamming it into Naruto's chest.

* * *

"NARUTO!"

* * *

"Naruto!"

* * *

'_Naruto.'

* * *

_

"What?" Kouumaru's hand was being pushed away from Naruto's body by a surge of blue chakra pouring out of him. Naruto was the one smiling now. Kouumaru pulled back his hand and looked down at it, while Naruto stood up. He lashed out at Naruto's chest again, and again he was blocked by a sudden surge of chakra.

* * *

"What is that?" Sakura was baffled by what she was looking at. Then it looked familiar for a moment, and she turned to Hinata. "Hinata, what is that?" 

Hinata jumped at the sound of her name. She looked quickly at Sakura, her face coated with shame. She looked back down at Naruto. "It's not what you think it is." She could still feel the stares on her back. "It's not Hakkesho Kaiten. Honestly. He can't maintain the chakra flow while he spins, and he can't pour it out from everywhere at once. But for blocking individual attacks…" She didn't need to finish.

Sasuke looked back down at the fight again. _'Naruto, you worked on a solely defensive ability. If you can see the attack coming, you can completely deflect it, no matter how strong it is. Even chakra based attacks would be blocked.'_ He clenched his fist. _'So attacks like that won't work. At least you're trying to make it interesting.'_

All three waited for what would come next.

* * *

Kouumaru was now frantic, each of his attacks were now aimed only at killing Naruto, and each was deflected by that chakra surge. "DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!!!!!" 

Naruto just let him pummel away, he had chakra enough to keep this on for a while, and his arm was beginning to feel a lot better. _'Time to end this.'_ Naruto clenched his fist. Between two of Kouumaru's not so quick strikes he threw an uppercut and surged chakra into his fist. They never made contact, but Kouumaru was still thrown off his feet and back. Once he was on the ground he looked up at Naruto. "That defense was taught to me by the person I saved after beating your friend."

Kouumaru had to think for a moment to get what that meant. Once he made the mental connections he began to laugh once more. He laughed at the irony of it. He stood while he laughed. He slammed his hands together again and saw Naruto brace himself. "Yuukiton: Accelration!"

Kouumaru got a lot faster and began his attack again, no longer targeting vital areas just aiming for a hit. Between Naruto's dodging and the chakra bursts he couldn't get a single hit in. Finally Naruto counter attacked, bringing another chakra infused punch into Kouumaru's gut. He was stunned for a moment but kept attacking. Naruto was faster then even his accelerated state, and he was attacking regularly now, beating into Kouumaru, who never relented. Eventually Naruto decided to end it, he dropped and did a spin kick, chakra coating his leg for protection. As Kouumaru landed on the ground, Naruto stood back up and made a shadow clone. By the time Kouumaru was up again, Naruto was holding a Rasengan. "This is what I used to beat Raikou." Kouumaru's eyes grew and he laughed harder then ever as he rushed forward at Naruto. It was a haphazard charge, and Naruto was able to plant the Rasengan into Kouumaru's chest easily.

Kouumaru went flying away and landed in the ground, sliding a few feet. As he stopped, a hush flew over the crowd. "MOVE!!! I ORDER YOU TO MOVE!!!!" It was Kouumaru, staring straight up and smiling as widely as ever. Naruto realized with a sickening feeling that he was talking to himself, trying to force himself to stand even though his body wouldn't.

The proctor wasn't going to let this continue. "WINNER: NARUTO UZUMAKI—"

"NOOO! THIS ISN'T OVER YET!!!! I'M STILL AWAKE!!! I WON'T CONCEDE!!!"

"—OF KONOHA!" The medics came out to take Kouumaru away, all the while over his screams of refusal to stop fighting. They were forced to drug him on the spot in order to get him to cooperate. Once he was unconscious, he was taken away in a gurney.

Naruto walked away through the ground level hallway that led away. In the hallway the applause echoed off every wall.

* * *

A/N: Woot, go Naruto. Sasuke's semifinal match is coming up, what tricks dose Chuushin have in store for the Uchiha? 

In Depth: (this lets me go a little further into some of the techniques I made up.)

Yuukiton. (Yuuki- nerve. Ton-that thing they put at the end of techniques that I think means release.)

The Yuukiton mixes water and lightning Chakra to produce a bioelectric current in the users body. This destroys the user's ability to feel pain or if stressed enough the user will be unaware that they have even been harmed. Contact with a Yuukiton user temporarily negates the ability of the brain to pick up or send out the nervous signals to the affected area. Contact with the heart can cause the heart to stop beating, and contact with the head can cause sever mental degradation. The kekkei genkai itself has become rarer and rarer in Kumogakure, due to the nature of genetics. Only 5 people are known to have the talent anymore, and Kouumaru is the only one of these ranked beneath Jonin, due to his youth.

Yuukiton techniques:

Blood Shock Jutsu: The user applies a small amount of blood to the opponent and uses it as a medium through which to send a bioelectric current into the targets body. This numbs the area as if they were in contact with a Yuukiton user.

Acceleration: Accelerates the rate at which synapse's fire and muscles react, effectively speeding up the user's ability to think and act. Though these effects are beneficial, there is a drawback. First, it enhances the pain dampening effect of the Yuukiton. More importantly however, if left active for too long, or if there is already significant stress on the user when activated, it can backfire and instead drive them into a delirium and deprive them of any touch sense for some time. In severe cases there is no recovery from this ailment.


	26. Sasuke Round 2

A/N: A long chapter for a tough fight. You've all asked to see one of Sasuke's new tricks and he will unleash one. Not a very unique new trick, but he's really good about keeping secrets okay. Oh, and btw, 20000 hits!!!!! (chapter 1 has 5000). The chapter with the second highest number of hits is chapter four: embrace, with 1300. You bunch of perverts. Lol.

Reviews:

Dragon: Really dude you could stop over thinking things a bit. But at the same time you inspire some good ideas. On the other hand stop second guessing me. Ah whatever do whatever you want, its not like I can stop you.

Kyuubi: Why waste it when he doesn't need it? But he'll need it plenty soon.

Abomber: You think? I don't know I didn't like that chapter as much as some of the other ones. But thanks. :)

Chapter 26: Sasuke: round 2

* * *

The Raikage had his jaw dropped and his body forward when he saw the proctor call the match for Naruto. Tsunade smiled in relief. The Tsuchikage had left for a moment.

Elsewhere, Naruto had climbed through the steps up to where Sakura and Hinata were observing from. "Hinata-chan! Sakura-chan! Did you see me out there?" Sakura nodded and smiled at him. But HInata averted her eyes, gazing off into the air. Naruto approached her past Sakura. "Whats the matter Hinata?" She didn't turn to face him, and he could see that she was trembling slightly. "Oh that's right. Thanks for showing me how to do that, if you hadn't I might have lost out there." He got closer and hugged her. He whispered as quietly as he could manage, "Don't worry about a thing, if anyone tries to be angry at you, I'll beat em to a pulp." She relaxed a bit but didn't turn to face Naruto. Naruto continued to hold her and he was tall enough to see over her shoulder and onto the arena ground, where Sasuke was waiting for his opponent.

* * *

"Honorable Tsuchikage-sama, I am not worthy of this visit." Chuushin knelt before her village's leader.

"Stand up Chuushin, we have something to talk about. I would be most disappointed if you were to lose this match. But there is something more important then just your victory in this match. You saw the other leaf-nin during his fight didn't you."

Chuushin nodded. "Of course sir, I had to prepare to eventually fight him. I would never dream of losing to any Konoha ninja, least of all one with such an insulting appearance."

"I see my visit was unnecessary, you already understand the situation perfectly. Go. Win." The Tsuchikage walked out of the hallway allowing her by and onto the field.

* * *

The proctor waited even after he had both the combatants at the center of the battlefield, but began the announcements when the Tsuchikage returned to his seat. "ROUND SIX, SASUKE UCHIHA OF KONOHA AGAINST CHUUSHIN HAJI OF IWA. BEGIN!!!"

Sasuke had already considered his options, he wanted to end this one quickly too. As soon as the proctor said go he attempted to body flick forward, but only moved forward a single step. He knew to look at his opponent, who was holding the same strange focus sign from her previous match.

He had watched her previous match and had become quite interested when he saw her hold out that seal. It was completely foreign even to his education, and the effect it had was unique. To be able to take control of a body of water already filled with someone else's chakra, there must be a formidable jutsu hidden in that seal. He had thought it then, but now he knew it. That his body flicker had somehow been completely blocked told him she was definitely up to something. But she wasn't moving, which gave Sasuke plenty of time to work out what to do. _'I can still mold and form chakra, so it doesn't disrupt my chakra flow. There is no form of binding, and I have already attempted to reverse any genjutsu. What is this effect?'_

She stood there holding the sign as still as ever. _'She knew I would attempt to move towards her, and was prepared to block it. If she was that well prepared, she must have had her next move planned out as well, which means she is doing something. If she isn't disappointed by my just standing here, she must have either planned for me to not react, or more likely, she is waiting for me to react to act. A waiting game it is then.' _Sasuke could be patient. He didn't alter his stance, didn't move in any noticeable way. He just stood there absolutely still.

* * *

"Well this is boring." Naruto let go of Hinata and leaned out over the edge of the railing. "Aren't they going to do anything?"

Hinata too seemed struck out of her daze by the fight and Naruto's comment. "Byakugan!" With her eyes she examined them more closely. "They really aren't doing anything, neither of them even have chakra forming up."

"Sasuke knows what he's doing. Just wait." Sakura said this with the utmost confidence.

* * *

Sasuke stood still. Chuushin stood still.

* * *

"Hmmmmm…" Tsunade hummed to herself. "Honorable Tsuchikage-sama, what would you be willing to tell me of that student?

The Tsuchikage continued to stare down at the field. "She has several talents."

Tsunade took the hint and dropped the question.

In his head the Tsuchikage remembered back to a long time ago. During a war. They had told everyone to retreat on command, but he had stayed and fought. He fought until that man was forced to retreat with his men. He had been so badly hurt during the fight, but simply that he had survived, and had held his own. It was the reason he was chosen to be the next Tsuchikage. And then the war was a loss in the end. _'What leaves have stolen in that war, Chuushin will take back today. Our Honor.'

* * *

_

Sasuke stood still. Chuushin spoke. "You will be the first to move. Have no ideas to the contrary."

Sasuke couldn't help but react to what she said. "So this is a waiting game for you. And what are you waiting for? My action obviously, but what will you do to force me to move?"

Chuushin's face was still blank. "Nothing. You enjoy ending battles quickly. You will eventually charge me simply because you want this battle over."

Sasuke could not deny that. This girl was accurate with her observations. However he could not trust her words. _'She is in control of this fight. I can wait forever, it will not bother her in the least. And when I move she has something ready. Either way she has the initial advantage. But I gain nothing by standing.'_

He just took a step forward, towards her. She didn't react. He preformed the body flicker, and she was right next to him, slightly behind him. A quick dodge and he was under her swinging arm. He swung out with his own arm and narrowly missed her as she dodged sideways. She was close to him now, and he was facing her. He moved forward and with his swift speed began attacking her with simple taijutsu. This was all just to buy him time to think.

'_What happened there? I tried to move towards her, instead she moved towards me. This girl…what does she do?'_ Sasuke still wanted to end things quickly. He drew his sword and began attacking with it. She was now barely able to dodge and only because he didn't really want to kill her, just injure her enough that she would give up. She was swift, Sasuke adjusted his aim. She placed her hands together into her focus sign again and moved at an incredible speed away from him.

'_What was that? Body flicker doesn't require a hand sign, and she was moving as fast as me. Me, mine, my body flicker.'_ His face must have betrayed some realization, because she smiled from where she stood.

Chuushin thought that now would be a good time to make things more fun. She started forming hand seals, which Sasuke easily recognized. "Katon: Fireball Jutsu!!" The large sphere of fire went flying towards Sasuke.

Sasuke was much faster then that attack, even without his body flicker. After he was out of its path he turned once again to face Chuushin. She was looking right at him, holding her focus sign. Sasuke rooted himself. _'This can't keep up, I have to test the capabilities of my opponent.'_ He began to form his own hand seals, "Katon: Fireball Jutsu!" His fireball flew at her.

She held her ground in the path of the fireball, holding out her focus sign. As it approached she used her hands as a conduit for her chakra, sending out into the fire ball. After moments, she was in control. The fireball lurched and stopped. With another heave it turned and headed for Sasuke. He could see this change in momentum and dodged away as the flaming mass came near him. It didn't stop there. The Fireball turned and followed Sasuke, picking up speed as it did. It was so fast that to dodge it a second time he had to use body flicker, which was thankfully not blocked this time.

He considered this significant, and looked over at Chuushin. She still had her focus sign out, but was pointing it towards the fireball. _'I see, she steals ninjutsu. Normally, once released a ninjutsu has it's effects, then dies out. Somehow her technique allows her to hold on to the jutsu and continue to manipulate it after the initial launch. But she couldn't do that with her own fireball, she needed me to launch one. Earlier, she also stole my body flicker jutsu, and stored the jutsu inside her, ready for use. No, she was already using it, that's why she could keep up with me in hand to hand combat. It is a versatile technique. The more powerful an opponent, the stronger it becomes.' _He had to dodge the mobile fire ball 6 more time as he thought this. Each consecutive dodge was closer to the previous, even with his body flicker enhancing his speed. To much more of this and he wouldn't be able to dodge it at all. He had to stop the source of it.

She saw the momentary glance he gave her. Chuushin immediately aligned the fire ball to collide with Sasuke and then turned to face him, realigning her focus sign on him. He tried to body flick, and only moved a few steps. He turned to face the fire ball, now right on top of him, while she held his stolen body flicker as a small bubble of chakra in her body. The fireball engulfed Sasuke.

It hurt, as one would expect it to, but he had protected himself with chakra, so that he would not take the full brunt of the attack. It made him appreciate how hard it must have been for Naruto to learn that chakra defense. For a moment he almost regretted making a pact that he wouldn't watch Naruto's matches with the sharingan. _'No, I'll win through my own methods, not be copying someone else. Least of all Naruto.'_ Sasuke stood and looked at his opponent. She was definitely above Genin level, and far more skilled then most Chunin. It wouldn't surprise him if she had been promised a place as a Jonin just like him.

He dusted himself off, and looked around for his sword which he had dropped in the commotion. It was pretty far away, and not between him and Chuushin. He thought it best to just ignore it and worry about the battle first. Along those lines he considered his opponent. _'She has one of my body flickers with her right now, and her ability to enhance and manipulate jutsu means she has become as fast as me, with one big burst of speed ready to be used if she desperately needs it. In taijutsu she can match me, and she can surpass me in Ninjutsu.' _He looked into her eyes with his own.

The fear was horrible, palpable. In an instant everything around her degraded into a horrific scene. She couldn't describe it, save that whatever was happening she was terrified. She was trained well enough to know that it was genjutsu, but even her hands were locked from the terror. She could not release the illusion. _'No,'_ she told herself. Genjutsu cannot actually stop you, there is always a weakness. If her body was bound, she would have to break it in some other way. _'Break the sensory override. How did he get me into this. It was his eyes, it is a visual effect.'_ She could not force her eyes closed, they were locked into whatever was happening around her.

Sasuke had to walk slowly, deliberately to not break the genjutsu. He had to remain in perfect contact with her eyes; even a blink would break it. He was getting closer to her, but his eyes were becoming dry, thirsty. As he walked he pulled a kunai out of the tattoos on his arm. Just before he blinked he threw it at her.

The terror suddenly faded from her and was replaced by a pain in her arm. She reached up and pulled the kunai from her flesh, wincing as she did so. Sasuke grabbed her hand as she was bringing the blade down, and punched her in the gut, hard. She gasped for air after the hit, but responded by punching towards Sasuke with her free hand. He caught her arm as she had expected of him, and she leapt and kicked towards his chest. He released her arms and grabbed her feet as they kicked, bracing the impact and forcing her back, throwing her away from him.

She spun in the air and landed on her hands and feet, which she quickly kicked up into the air to deflect Sasuke's charge. He avoided her kicks, while she used the momentum to flip up and land on her feet, spinning to face him. Her arm hurt, but she held the kunai tightly. Sasuke was looking at her eyes again, so she quickly averted and looked away from him. Sasuke landed another quick punch into her gut, sending her stumbling back.

He had gotten an advantage now. She couldn't look at his eyes, and most of her ability was based on reading an opponent through facial expression. Even Sasuke's still face had betrayed his maneuvers. She gripped the kunai again, and decided to go for it. She used the stolen jutsu and rammed the kunai hard into Sasuke's gut. As he recoiled from the attack, she leapt away, landing right by the mud pile she had used to crush her last foe. It was still wet enough to use.

Sasuke could see where she had landed, and knew what she was thinking. He threw the kunai away and looked right at her, his eyes red with the activation of his Kekkei Genkai. She didn't know but she was already in another Genjutsu. She began forming her hand seals and Sasuke followed in suit, copying her movements. He finished just as she did, but her jutsu was useless, he had hypnotized her so that no chakra was formed when she was done. It was Sasuke's technique now. "Doton: Crashing Mud Flow!"

The mud lurched up and Chuushin spun to see it. It dove down and covered her. Sasuke turned to the proctor. He was already counting in his mind for when he would have to end this in Sasuke's favor. Sasuke had turned away and was walking towards his sword.

He heard it coming and turned around to face it, but the mud wrapped itself around his body preventing movement. She was standing where the pile had been, unharmed and smiling. She had performed her jutsu theft in the last second before the mud hit her, taking it from Sasuke. The mud was clenching harder and harder on Sasuke's body, resembling Garaa's technique more then anything now.

'_How annoying. Now I actually have to threaten her life.'_ The mud was torn to ribbons around him and he quickly moved away from the mess, wielding his lightning sword. Once he was away from that mess, he extended the blade and swung it wide towards Chuushin, intending only to give her a good slice along the arm. His swing was stopped by something.

Sasuke stared with disbelief. She was holding the other end of the sword with her focus sign. His hand was suddenly sliced as she pulled the weapon away from him. It shortened in her hand, and she gazed at it. "How are you still a Genin? Chakra manipulation of this level is above even Jonin level."

'_Of course she can take even a weapon like that. But if she's holding it…I had wanted to save this for you Naruto. But now you will see it beforehand.'_ "An unfortunate consequence of training for three years straight. I was unable to rank up. But I am above jonin level. Let me show you." He placed his hands together, as if to form another lightning sword. Instead a fire sword developed in his hands. _'Though it was designed to defeat wind jutsu, it will defeat a lightning jutsu as well.'_

She saw the weapon he wielded. _'I can win this.' _She tried to extend the sword, but it wouldn't work. _'There must be some trick to getting this thing to work that I don't know. Whatever, I'll beat him at close range.'_ She charged, keeping her eyes on his nose, trying to avoid eye contact but still be able to read his face. She saw the twitch that signaled his body flicks, so she back pedaled and stepped back, just in time to react to and deflect his attack. There was a moment where the weapons simply met, but his started to gain ground. The flaming sword sliced through the lightning sword. Sasuke lunged stabbing through her shoulder. With a quick movent he pulled the weapon out and stabbed her through the leg, and then again through the gut. Each hit was aimed to avoid vital organs.

She fell in pain and began bleeding, though not nearly as much as she should have. The weapon had cauterized her wounds while making them.

It was over, the proctor made the call.

* * *

The Tsuchikage was furious and only barely concealing it. The Raikage leaned over in his seat and looked across The Tsuchikage to The Hokage. Fess up Honorable Hokage-sama, who the hell are those two? They are obviously far beyond average ninja, well into Chunin if not Jonin. What is all this?"

Tsunade smiled a bit. "It rarely comes up as a concern, but these two had a certain, extenuating circumstance. There is a law that states that no ninja can make the jump directly from Genin to Jonin, and due to extreme training regiments and high priority missions that could be trusted to no others, those two were unable to take a Chunin exam for three years. I am hoping to get this law removed, or at least amended it in my village as soon as I return home. As for those two. The papers to make them into Jonin are sitting on my desk in Konoha, ready to be signed as soon as we return. I can assure that those two will both be Chunin after their performances today. I apologize for these circumstances, and for any undue harm that was caused to your ninja on their behalf."

The other Kages absorbed this information. It was the Tsuchikage who spoke up. "End this. Take them with you. There is no need for a final match."

Tsunade kept her sly grin on. "I couldn't do that to them. They haven't had a chance to fight each other in three years either. I can't take it from them now that its here. Besides it's the only way I'll see what their real limits are, so that I know what I can trust them with."

The Tsuchikage was obviously angry to have seen his student's defeat. "Don't use my village for your sick little tests. I don't car—"

"You will accept all that goes with having these exams in you village old friend. You wanted to have them here after all. Now sit back and enjoy the final battle. I have to say I'm quite curious as to what these two can do too." The Raikage was standing up and stretching after what he had just said. Neither of the other Kages could think of a response.

* * *

The proctor spoke over the uproar in the crowd. "TO RECOVER FROM PREVIOUS MATCHES, AND AS AN INTERMISSION, THE FINAL MATCH WILL BE HELD ONE HOUR FROM NOW. THAT MATCH WILL BE NARUTO UZUMAKI OF KONOHA AGAINST SASUKE UCHIHA OF KONOHA."

* * *

A/N: ZOMFG!!!!!

In Depth:

Ninjutsu Thief Jutsu: Exclusive to the Haji clan of Iwagakure, this technique allows the user to override an opponent's ninjutsu technique. There are three levels of mastery in the jutsu.

1: Contact with the affected substance. This cannot be used to take control of something that would normally be harmful to touch. Ex: Touching a shadow clone would allow the user to take over the shadow clone.

2: Contact with a created or dangerous substance. At this level the ability toke control is powerful enough and fast enough that even harmful substances can be touched and taken over. Ex: Blocking a lightning bolt and throwing it back at the opponent.

3: Visual contact. The highest level, allows the user to take over any ninjutsu in their line of sight, as long as they can see it being used.

The trigger for this jutsu is a special and unique focus sign that must be held while control is being wrested from the original user of the ninjutsu. This jutsu does not allow the user to take control of a ninjutsu they themselves could not use, such as those produced by Kekkei Genkai. Also, if used to take control of unique techniques or abilities that the user does not know how to use (such as high level spatial and nature recomposing jutsu) the user may not be able to adequately control these techniques. Only one technique can be stolen and held at a time. Certain ninjutsu can be enhanced through the use of this jutsu, since the ninjutsu will have power as if two people had created it, which may be impossible for certain techniques normally. Jutsu Thievery also requires a large amount of chakra, requiring a large amount of stamina to keep it up.


	27. Intermission

A/N: This chapter is what its name implies, an intermission of sorts. As such it is fairly short.

Reviews:

Flex: Thanks for the compliments, that is really what I'm tryin to do. As for finishing, I really don't have an ending planned yet, I got plenty more planned out of this, two more "arcs" worth of writing planned in my head, and the it just drops off. I don't know what I'll do after that, but I'll deal with that then. Anyway I'll pop over to your story right now since I plan on taking the rest of the night off from writing.

Zepher: Research jutsus? All that stuff in the in depth part I made up. As for your question, no. Naruto does not use FTG jutsu against Sasuke in this chapter. And that website, I tried to post the URL, lets see if I can cheat this sites filter (don't tattle me): http // www . freedict . com /

Dragon: Not gonna happen. Not now, not ever. New Living Among Leaves Fannon: Sasuke can only hold one chakra sword at a time. Further more, no one is able to weild a sword of any kind from their mouth except Orochimaru.

Special note: I've been thinking about renaming this story, any opinions?

* * *

Chapter 27: Intermission. 

'_Report.'_

'_We have found them and engaged them. Kisame has already retrieved his weapon.'_

'_That's him! I knew it would be him! He's mine!'_

'_You idiot it doesn't matter just kill them.'_

'_Don't you touch him Deidara, I don't care what he did to you, he's MINE!!'_

'_Stop your bickering and focus. It is important that these people be killed.'_

'_Continue fighting, break communication so that the battle has your full concentration.'_

'_Sir.' '**We contacted them.' **'They are on their way.' **'They are moving slowly.'**_

'_It doesn't matter, they are useful regardless.'_

'_Leader, what of nine?'_

'_He has performed well, but nothing impressive yet. I will continue observing him. Itachi, he's facing your brother in the final round."_

"…"

"_No response? As you wish then. All of you have your assignments. Dismissed.'

* * *

_

Hinata was actually a little sick to her stomach. Naruto was shoveling more food into his mouth then she would normally think was humanly possible. Suddenly he stopped, placed the bowl down and leaned back patting his belly. "Good, but not Ichiraku's. Now I got to go warm up. Hinata? Are you ok?"

She snapped awake and waved off his concern. This, of course, only reinforced it. She had to give him an answer. "If anyone of my family finds out what I taught you, they will never forgive me. I will be…"

Naruto walked over to her and grabbed her shoulder, smiling when she looked up at him. "You didn't teach me anything ok Hinata? I figured it out all on my own."

Hinata grabbed Naruto around the waist, hugging him close. "C'mon Hinata, I have to warm up. Wanna help?" She let go and nodded, walking away from the lunch area.

* * *

Sasuke was lying on the bed while Sakura treated his wound. She had actually punched one of the other physicians when he tried to suggest he should do it instead. Sasuke was quite uncomfortable, but didn't complain. Even he admitted that Sakura's medical ninjutsu was top notch. His gut was feeling much better, an she had even restored some of his used chakra. She stopped. "Done. You should probably get something to eat before your match." 

She was right, he knew that it would help to restore his chakra. And he had no doubt Naruto was gorging himself at this very moment. "Do you know where I can get some food?"

"I'm sure we can ask someone." She was walking slowly towards the door of this small room.

He heard that she had said "we", despite how he had plainly said "I". Without further dialogue he stood and walked out of the room right past Sakura. This was their unspoken agreement. One of them would just follow behind the other, without talking and automatically agreeing with whatever the other decided to do. He didn't exactly understand how their relationship had ended up like this, but it worked for them.

He asked and was directed to a nearby establishment where he was being allowed to eat for free as a participant in the exams. He still had 45 minutes until the match.

* * *

Hinata was an excellent opponent for Naruto to train with, as far as taijutsu went. She could easily see his attacks coming and maneuver herself, and he was fast enough to move around her attacks. They also talked while they fought. "Naruto, I still want to know what it was your were practicing in secret." 

Naruto continued their warm up exercise. "I told you last time, it's a surprise, for everyone, even you."

She was referring to the days when he would lead her away from his main training with a clone. He would help her with her abilities, and in fact with his help she had improved, and was now able to knock a kunai loose from a tree without damaging it. Shortly after she had accomplished this, she had wandered back towards the training ground, where the army of clones was. One near the edge saw her and ran towards her, edging her away. It didn't take long for the rest to notice her, but she had seen them practicing some thing she had never seen before.

Hinata continued the exercise as well. "Will you need it in the next match?"

Naruto dodged one last hit and jumped a little away, signaling that they were done. "Against Sasuke. Yeah, definitely. I'll have to pull everything out against him. And even then, I don't know if I'll be able to win, he's…well he's Sasuke."

Hinata relaxed after the exercise. "I think you can do it Naruto."

Naruto smiled and put his hands behind his head. "Yeah absolutely."

* * *

Sasuke walked back to the arena, Sakura in tow. Once they were back at the balcony overlooking the much emptier coliseum, he stopped and looked over the edge. After all these years. Him and Naruto. A fight to keep him in Konoha. This too was the same. He had already decided that this was a test of methods. Who had gained more strength, Naruto, with his friends, his bonds. Or Sasuke, in abandoning everything solely for power. He didn't expect Naruto to win, but this would be the ultimate test of his capability. And tht is why he would wear it. He pulled it out and put it on. 

"Sasuke…That's…" She was staring at him, standing tall wearing it.

He nodded. "Yes. You were right Sakura, the day before we came here. Naruto earned it then. He has earned it now." Covering his head was his old Konoha head band, still scratched through the center by Naruto's claw mark. It felt awkward to be wearing it, since he had not done any such thing in years. Orochimaru had once offered him a sound-nin headband, which he had promptly broken in half. Now he wore Konoha's mark on his face. Not as a sign of loyalty, but a sign of honor to his opponent. Naruto would understand that.

He looked odd wearing it again now. She had become so used to his headband-less state. Then as she looked at him she saw his younger self for an instant. "Sasuke…" It was all she could think to say.

Sasuke looked down at her. He grinned, and said "That's it? No good luck? No I love you? Are you okay Sakura?"

That hit her like a ton of bricks. It was far too playful a thing for Sasuke to say. "I… Sasuke… What…" She was really flustered. She finally found the snappy comeback that had been eluding her. "Me ok? Are you the one who's not ok? You never ask if I'm ok." He was still just grinning at her slightly. It was odd, something had to be wrong.

"Thanks again Sakura." Sasuke walked away. The time was fast approaching for the match.

'_Thanks again? Thanks? Thank you Sakura…No…He couldn't…What is going on here, why am I so worried. And yet I know. Naruto has to do something for him. Naruto, do whatever you have to, prove whatever you have to, just keep Sasuke here. I don't want to keep my promise yet.'_ Sakura took a position leaning on the rail for support. All she could do was wait for their fight to begin. That and hope she was wrong.

* * *

Hinata and Naruto walked back to the arena together. Once there they split up as Naruto was proceeding to the battle area. Hinata went up to the balcony and found Sakura. 

Naruto walked through the hallways in the coliseum. Eventually he found his way to the exit onto the field. Sasuke was there. Naruto walked right up to Sasuke, and saw what was on his forehead. HE reacted of course, but didn't say anything.

"Naruto, Sasuke." Tsunade seemed to almost manifest out of nowhere. "I would like to personally congratulate you on making it this far. Both of you are deserving of the rank of jonin that will be granted to you as soon as you return to Konoha. As such, many find this final match to be unnecessary, and would like me to call it off rather then have you pummel into each other. I am here to extend that request to you. The choice is yours." She stood with her usual air of superiority.

"No" Sasuke said.

"That's right, we're doing this." Naruto finished.

Tsunade looked at them. Sasuke wasn't grinning like Naruto, but his eyes had the same message. The message was this, "We are going to do this with or without your consent."

Tsunade sighed, she had expected this. "As you wish, but I need to remind you that at any time the Proctor can call the match for either of you. The match will end automatically if either of you leaves the area of the arena, or any of the audience is put in any danger. You cannot argue with these terms. And Naruto… No never mind, I trust your judgment on that matter."

What needed to be said was said. The proctor walked up past her and led the two out onto the field.

* * *

Tsunade, The Raikage, The Tsuchikage, Shino and Kiba watched from the VIP box. Hinata and Sakura watched from the Balcony. The Akatsuki leader was one of the hundreds watching from seats. Everyone was watching as Naruto and Sasuke walked onto the field, took steps away from each other, and turned to face the other. "THE FINAL MATCH IS BEGINNING NOW. NARUTO UZUMAKI OF KONOHA VERSUS SASUKE UCHIHA OF KONOHA." The silence was broken only by wind. And then, "BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

* * *

"DAMN! They're getting away!!!" 

"We don't have time, he's hurt bad."

"That's it, this mission is a failure, we have no choice but to return."

"Your right, this is too serious, we can't treat him, and local villages won't have the resources. Let's get movng."

"Hang on Sai"

* * *

A/N: ZOMG WTF IS GOING ON!!!! Oh wait, I know. But you don't. : P : P : P : P : P : P NARUTO NERD IS BEING MEAN AGAIN!!!!! MWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	28. BEGIN

A/N: This chappie is dedicated to nothing but Naruto vs. Sasuke.

Reviews:

ALRIGHT I GET IT. Sorry for being a jerk. It's just so much fun to be mean like that. Seriously try it sometime. But thanks for all the reviews everyone, in fact chapter 27 has received more reviews then any other chapter, with a grand total of 9! Lets go for 10 on chapter 28!

* * *

Chapter 28: BEGIN

"BEGIN!!!!!" The proctor got out of the way as fast as he could, but neither Naruto or Sasuke moved at first.

Then Naruto grinned. Sasuke was right in front of him, and Naruto blocked the punch. _'You've gotten faster.'_

Punch. Punch. Block. Dodge. They seemed to be equally matched. But it was a façade. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's incoming fist and with a sudden burst of speed and strength, threw Sasuke over his shoulder. As Sasuke landed in the dirt on his feet and unscathed, Naruto told him "Stop playing around. Don't treat this like some game!!"

Sasuke drew his sword and charged toward Naruto. Naruto was forced to do naught but dodge the quickly moving blade. Still, Sasuke admired the skill Naruto had gained. An opening appeared, one which Sasuke was quick to exploit. Naruto could see the attack coming, but could not dodge.

'_Just like you learned, focus and push!'_ His chakra burst out of his side and threw the sword away from him. The unexpected defensive move threw Sasuke off balance creating an opening for Naruto to throw a fist at Sasuke's face. Sasuke defended by letting go of the sword with his left hand and knocking Naruto's incoming fist aside. This left Sasuke very open, and Naruto brought his left hand up and shoved it into Sasuke's gut.

The blow threw Sasuke back a bit, but Naruto didn't let up. He approached Sasuke with another attack but had to move away from Sasuke's sword swipe. Sasuke closed his eyes. When he opened them they were red and marked by the ornate pattern that could only be the Sharingan. Naruto smiled at the sight. Sasuke's stance changed slightly. He once more used his speed to get close to Naruto and launch an attack. Naruto dodged it, and seemed to align perfectly with Sasuke's fist, which hammered into his body. He recoiled form the blow and had to dodge another, which led into another attack he could not avoid or even see coming.

Naruto boosted his chakra flow to increase his speed, but Sasuke just stayed one step higher. Naruto was getting a fairly decent beating now. Naruto tried to get some space between him and Sasuke but he just jumped into another attack that dragged him back down. Sasuke was getting more and more vicious with his attacks. It peaked when his secondary attack was actually made with the sword, giving Naruto a gash on his left shoulder. The momentum from the swing created a momentary opening, a lag, and Naruto was finally able to jump away.

He gripped his shoulder and looked at Sasuke. With the Sharingan, Sasuke could see and predict all of Naruto's moves. _'It's too early for that though. No, it's just right. He doesn't deserve any less. Besides, I know everyone is just dying to see it, it's so cool.'_ He had to do it quickly before Sasuke decided to charge. He pulled the scroll he had prepared for this fight from his sack. He unraveled it and smeared it with the blood from his arm. With a smile he spiraled the scroll all around him and sent chakra into it. Kunai launched out of the scroll from it's face, and because it was wrapped around him the kunai launched out in every conceivable direction.

They landed haphazardly in the dirt, most nowhere near Sasuke. Naruto claimed one last Kunai from the scroll for himself and dropped it where he stood. With all his preparations complete he pulled out a normal kunai from his sack and looked right towards Sasuke. His eyes focused onto the Kunai that had landed closest to Sasuke. Focus and…

'_It's like getting punched in the throat. Not that it hurts it's just a bit jarring. The weirdest part is landing, you're just aware of where you are, and what you are supposed to do, like you never even moved to begin with. I asked Gamakichi about it, he said that's how it always feels.'_

Naruto was holding the kunai to Sasuke's throat. Sasuke felt the drop of sweat form on his brow. What had just happened was completely impossible. No body flicker, no matter how advanced could be completely invisible to his eyes. "How?"

* * *

The Tsuchikage actually stood up in his seat in shock. Tsunade was also completely speechless at this turn of events.

* * *

"Leaping Thunder God Jutsu."

Sasuke heard this, and made the connection to the technique of the fourth Hokage. He reached up and pulled Naruto's arm away, spinning as he did so to face him, and swing with his sword. Naruto pulled his arm away from Sasuke's grip and focused on another nearby kunai. The sword slashed through thin air. Sasuke could hear Naruto land behind him again, and turned once more to face him. Naruto leapt again, going right back to where he had just been next to Sasuke. He used the opportunity to punch Sasuke in the back.

Sasuke reacted to the attack by swinging his sword behind him. Naruto was already gone and had reappeared several feet away. Then just as quick Naruto was back and attacking again. This time Sasuke upped his own speed the moment he saw Naruto disappear. He was able to quickly move away and get a good look at Naruto, before he disappeared again. Sasuke moved once more, and after that moved again. Naruto appeared where he had been standing, and Sasuke rushed at him, now on the offensive.

* * *

It now took effort just to watch the fight. The two ninja were moving so fast around the arena that the audience could only barely keep up. They would move quickly away from one another, and then one of them would go on the offensive. The silence in the audience seemed to amplify the sound of the kunai on sword clashes.

Sakura's eyes danced around the arena trying to follow, and never knowing who she would catch a glimpse of. Hinata on the other hand could see Sasuke's movements plainly, her Byakugan allowed that. Naruto's movements were another story. He was literally teleporting, so far as she could see. Her eyes allowed her to spot him fairly quickly though, and she could see that this fight was very evenly matched.

* * *

Sasuke couldn't track Naruto's movements anymore, but he was still examining him. In his mind he had a map of the field, and had plotted onto it every place where Naruto had appeared. They appeared random, but he could see the correlation. As Sasuke stopped his dash, he landed purposefully close to one of the kunai Naruto had thrown earlier. Sasuke picked it up with a swift motion and examined it. It was more elegant in design, not meant for attacking directly, this was designed to be thrown accurately. On the handle there was a formula, one that Sasuke had never seen before. He threw it away from where they were fighting and it stuck into the ground.

Naruto appeared near him, but had to take a few steps to get in range of an attack. Sasuke's mental map caught the difference. _'Five meters.' _Sasuke dodged the attack easily and dashed away again, while Naruto vanished. Sasuke landed next to another Kunai which he squatted down to and tossed away, right to where he had sent the other kunai he had grabbed. Once more Naruto appeared but had to move a few more steps to attack.

This pattern held up. After only a short while Naruto had to move farther and farther to get to where Sasuke was standing. Eventually Naruto paused. He saw the small pile of kunai that Sasuke had been building. Sasuke was also pausing, allowing Naruo to take in how easily this technique could be defeated. Naruto picked up the Kunai he had landed near. "DON'T THINK I'M WEAK SASUKE!!!!! SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!!!!!!!!" 9 clones appeared near Naruto, each holding another special kunai. The clones promptly threw the kunai out, replenishing many of the holes Sasuke had created in the grid. Naruto dropped his where he stood. Then all the Naruto's disappeared.

Sasuke's dashes had become more frantic now. Naruto was appearing in ten places at once, easily out maneuvering Sasuke and even heading him off. Sasuke was being herded by a swarm of 6 or so Narutos around him, while the other four we're prepared to cut him off once he took the only gap he could. Another surprise amongst all of this was that Naruto and his clones weren't lagging at all, which is a normal consequence of splitting your chakra among more bodies. Each Naruto he was facing should have been only one tenth as strong as the original. But each of them were just as fast as he had been before. There was really only one explanation: Naruto had been holding back ninety percent of his power until now.

Was this really Naruto? It looked like him, but since when did he approach combat with anything but rampant and wild attacks? Naruto was thinking, planning, being tactical. When did this start. _'Hey Sasuke did you see how I cheated on that test… Hey Sasuke lets not use any of the techniques we didn't have the last time we did these exams, it will be more fair to them… Hey Sasuke, I'm not going to talk to you until our match. I'll be training, and you need to train too, but I don't want to know what you learn how to do. Let's be able to surprise each other…' _Naruto had planning this whole time. Sasuke had missed it.

He could see it now though. His dodges were becoming closer and closer, Naruto was adapting to his movements and compensating. _'Fine Naruto, I've been holding back too. Let's see where this goes.'_ He dodged one more trap but then stopped as the Narutos surrounded him. His refusal to move threw the Narutos off for just a moment. Three of the six rushed forward to attack, while the other three prepared to observe. "CHIDORI CURRENT!!!"

The three vaporized as clones commonly do, and the other three that surrounded him prepared to dodge his attacks. Channeling energy into his sword, Sasuke swung at one of them, who tried to defend with a kunai. The kunai fell in two, then poofed and was gone along with the clone. He turned to the next who didn't try to block the energized sword, but instead dodged. It made it around a few hits but Sasuke was eventually able to place a gash in the short lived clone. The last clone that had been near him leapt away to gather with the rest of the Narutos, who had grouped together. The kunai that the destroyed clones had thrown had also disappeared.

Sasuke held his energized sword out, ready to charge at a moments notice. Each Naruto held up their hands. "Shadow clone jutsu." Each of the five Narutos had a clone, which began spinning chakra in their creator's hand. All the Narutos disappeared, and Sasuke dashed from where he was standing.

The dance began all over again, only now it was faster and with bright flashes of light. The chidori energized sword could not cut through a rasengan, but the energy released in the impact was impressive. Both Sasuke and the Naruto's had to continuously recharge their specific weapons to keep the combat going. Sasuke also noticed that the Narutos had gotten much faster, which made sense since they were now each holding twenty percent of his total chakra. Sasuke had to push himself harder to keep up with them.

Sasuke was well aware of his own limits, it was one of the things he had trained the hardest to recognize. He was now using speed and power equivalent to what he used to be capable of only under the effects of the curse seal's level one. The fact that Naruto had pushed him to this level so quickly had significance, significance that was not lost on Sasuke.

His thoughts had not distracted him from the fight. Naruto was using the clones more efficiently now, they wouldn't appear near him in any position that didn't offer an attack, and more frequently now they were attacking in unison making it harder to dodge. Several of these jumps and movements later, Sasuke saw an opening. One of the clones had leapt away and landed not facing Sasuke. Sasuke wasted no time dashing over and impaling the clone on his sword. The clone lurched form the impact, and vaporized, into a large rock. With the blade of his sword down, the blade could not immediately slice through it and he was left prone as five Narutos appeared and threw their rasengans right at him.

Dodged. Dodged. Dodged. Dodged. Hit. Naruto hit with the rasengan, sending Sasuke away and down. His body ground into the dirt as he slid away. When he finally came to a stop, he stood up slowly, and dusted himself off. The shock from the attack had caused him to lose his concentration on the energized sword. But that would be fine, he had no more use for it. "Chidori Katana." His lightning sword formed in his hand. The four Narutos that were still holding rasengans stepped forward, ready to move. The one who did not have his sphere, having used it on Sasuke stayed back behind the others. _'A ploy, that is definitely not the real him. Naruto would never protect himself like that. Then again, he has shown some tactical skill, would he mislead me by playing on that idea? There is no way to tell. I'll just defeat them all at once.'_

The blade extended and bent as Sasuke swung it. The clone on the far left raised his rasengan to defend, while the other clones leapt towards Sasuke. The sword easily destroyed the rasengan and the clone with it. After that Sasuke shrank the blade back down and deftly avoided the three attacks that were being directed to him, destroying another clone in a counter attack. The remaining Narutos leapt away, and Sasuke saw and followed one, destroying it after landed. In the corners of his eye he saw the Naruto that had hit him earlier was creating more clones and preparing something. Sasuke quickly annihilated the last clone. He turned and extended the blade again, aiming to impale Naruto through the chest.

The blade froze against Naruto's raised arm, holding something akin to the rasengan but different. It was the Rasenyari he had shown earlier, but now it had an even more unique appearance. The chakra coils that had been slipping out had solidified, the tip of the cone was more defined, and the spirals ran all the way up to it. Naruto held it up to face the incoming lightning sword. "Futon: Rasendrill!" Naruto didn't bother to use his leaping thunder god jutsu, he just ran straight forward, shattering the chidori katana as he pushed his new weapon through it. Halfway there, Sasuke dropped his lightning sword and prepared to counter Naruto's attack. Naruto got close, Sasuke dodged away with his high speed body flicker, he looked back at Naruto and threw several shuriken at him.

Naruto vanished, and Sasuke realized with self disappointment that he had stepped right near a kunai. He turned and saw Naruto just in time to try and move. The Rasendrill jammed into Sasuke's chest. There was a momentary lull of silence, followed by a sound of rushing wind and cracking stone. Sasuke fell to the ground with a large circular hole in his chest. Behind Naruto, traced into the ground were large gashes.

Sasuke's limp body fell to the ground, and exploded revealing a large rock with an enormous hole through its core. Naruto turned and faced the real Sasuke. "So, wha do you think?"

Sasuke was breathing, that had bee far to close. "Wasteful. But you fixed the backlash. Had I been hit…"

Naruto brushed this aside. "I knew you'd dodge. When are you really going to get serious Sasuke?"

Sasuke considered this. "It wouldn't be fair. Last time I was blinded by Orochimaur's spell and the Kyuubi had his claws in your mind. That is why it doesn't count. This time, I can acess that same level of power, without Orochimaru's influence, but you would still be tainted by the kyuubi's influence if you were to rise to that level."

Naruto smiled and pointed his thumb towards his chest. "You're wrong. I can go that high with no change to me. So stop treating me like I'm weak. Its not fighting you if you're not trying."

Sasuke didn't know if he could believe Naruto or not. But either way, this was the inevitable part of their fight. Sasuke agreed silently, ready to take the battle to a higher level.

* * *

A/N: Next chappie, the fight continues.

In Depth:

Leaping Thunder God Jutsu: Actually the first step in learning the flying thunder god jutsu, this technique allows the user to transport themselves to any of their prepared formula marks as long as it is within sight. The flying thunder god jutsu eliminates this weakness, allowing the user to simply go anywhere one of their formulas are waiting. Naruto named it this after he developed it during training for the chunin exam final rounds. He trained this technique by itself for at least 7 hours on 22 days of his month long reprieve, with approximately 1500 clones working on it at any time. (that adds up to about 231000 hours of training).


	29. Change

A/N: Wow. That's the longest I've gone without updating. Sorry but it was spring break here and I took the week off for fun. On a side note I finally desided to check this email account and found that that's where pms go. So I'll check it more frequently now on and will actually get those, sorry for missing the other ones, but I just never thought about checking this email. Anyway here's your chappie and it's the conclusion to the fight.

Reviews:

Zephyr: Wow, big review. Futon: Rasendrill was just the rasenyari from earlier with wind chakra.

Matt-Rasengan: Think he needed a little longer? Lol.

Kyuubi: It won't be easy for either of them, but it won't be a tie.

* * *

Chapter 29: Change 

Sasuke cracked is neck around, mentally preparing himself to release the limits he had been fighting under up till now. He noticed that Naruto had closed his eyes, and appeared to be concentrating very purposefully, which Sasuke knew could only mean one thing. He opened his sharingan eyes and looked at Naruto.

"**Why insist on coming here, it is unnecessary."**

Naruto looked up at the demon, which had formed itself as a large swirling orange mass inside the cage. He was about to respond Sasuke appeared nearby, looking around the room and stopping on Naruto. "Hey, Sasuke."

Sasuke broke the eye contact with Naruto and turned back to face the Kyuubi. There was no real face to it right now. "What's your game, inviting me in like this?"

Naruto smirked. "I needed to show you that even if I use his power, he won't get any kind of control." Naruto walked over towards the cage. "ARM!"

"**As you wish."**

The Kyuubi's massive arm flew out of the cage and hovered for a moment above Naruto, before slamming down. Sasuke prepared to move should he try the same thing on him, but was taken aback when he saw Naruto's reaction. Naruto stood still and caught the falling appendage with a single hand. Gripping into the fur, Naruto pulled the arm away from the cage, and it tore away with a loud sound. Holding up the massive arm as if it were nothing, Naruto swung it around placing the claws right in front of Sasuke's face. "You see, I've got it."

Sasuke nodded and left Naruto's mind.

The arm Naruto was holding disappeared. **"Pointless."**

Naruto smiled wide. "Yeah, but fun!"

Naruto came out of his mind and looked across the field to Sasuke. _'Ready?'__** 'Of course.'**__ 'Right arm on my signal.'_ Naruto and Sasuke stared at each other for another moment. "Shadow clone jutsu!" He only created the one clone, which helped him create a rasengan. Sasuke hadn't moved yet. _'GO!'_ Naruto held out his arm as a large amount of orange chakra began to pour out of it. A large claw made of the chakra gripped the rasengan, and shot off. It moved incredibly fast and carried the rasengan as it went, moving straight for Sasuke.

Of course Sasuke dodged it. Mid way through his leap Naruto dissolved both the rasengan and the chakra arm. His increased chakra flow was enhancing his speed and vision, so he could see Sasuke's trajectory. A quick use of the leaping thunder god jutsu and he was already in Sasuke's path. Sasuke landed right in front of Naruto, just in time to receive an orange chakra enhanced punch to the face, which sent him rolling away.

As Sasuke tried to stand he was brought up and received a small beating via Naruto. The last punch sent Sasuke flying through the air. During the lull Sasuke was able to right himself and get a good look at Naruto.

* * *

Hinata made a small squeak, which Sakura knew was a gasp. Sakura was also stunned, seeing Naruto launch a resengan like a cannon was odd, but more importantly the chakra had been orange, which cold only mean one thing. It suddenly hit her that Hinata had never seen the demon foxes chakra. "Hinata, do you know what that is?" 

Hinata just kept looking for a moment and then turned away from the fight. Sakura grabbed her shoulder. "That was the demon fox's chakra, Hinata. If it gets out of control, we'll have a real problem." She couldn't really understand Hinata's reaction at first, but suddenly it hit her. "Hinata, you could see with your byakugan couldn't you?"

Hinata nodded, and finally turned back to look at the fight.

* * *

Sasuke landed, and kept his eyes locked onto Naruto. Naruto used movement technique, but Sasuke had seen where he was staring, and could predict perfectly where he would appear. It was Sasuke's turn. Naruto attempted an attack but Sasuke was far to fast. Soon Sasuke was on the offensive and began layering Naruto with punches. Eventually Naruto was able to leap away, but Sasuke was right behind him. Sasuke was just too damn fast, Naruto couldn't get away or get an attack in. He had to do something Sasuke wouldn't expect. 

Sasuke saw the chakra shell form just in time to dodge away from Naruto's arm. Just as before, the chakra only appeared on Naruto's right arm, and the claw extended out and curved giving him an odd weapon, akin to a whip. Sasuke had to move at top speed to avoid the attack, and saw how Naruto was using the time he h gained to stand up and recover. Sasuke moved around the fox arm and was in range for another attack. Naruto was smiling.

Naruto lifted his left hand and a second chakra claw formed, gripping Sasuke by the chest and driving him away, lifting him up and slamming him into the ground. The right hand claw raised high and prepared to slam down on Sasuke. As it descended Sasuke dodged away, so the claw slammed into an empty hole. Sasuke landed and paused, while Naruto withdrew the chakra claws and they disappeared.

'_No more games Naruto.' _Sasuke quickly formed hand seals, and held up the last one. "Katon: Fire Ball Storm!" Several fireballs shot out of Sasuke's mouth, each descending on and destroying one of Naruto's special kunai. One also aimed directly for Naruto, but he was able to dodge it with his normal speed. By the time he came to a stop, Sasuke had finished his work, the formulas were destroyed.

Naruto hadn't brought any spares; he knew that any opponent smart enough to destroy them would be smart enough to do it again, so there was no point. _'If I can't beat him in speed I still have the advantage of power.' _The chakra shell didn't just cover Naruto's arms now, it spread until it was covering his whole body. His eyes became red, and his whisker marks became darker and more distinct. The chakra shell formed a single tail. Sasuke could tell though, his personality was still intact. Naruto was still smiling.

Then Naruto moved. He was fast, and was quickly coming towards Sasuke. Sasuke moved forward too, much faster and they met. Sasuke punched Naruto in the face but recalled his fist. If Sasuke couldn't punch through a stone wall, he would have said it was like punching a stone wall. Naruto retaliated with his own attack, which Sasuke was able to dodge. Sasuke continued dodging for a few moments before he jumped back and formed his fire sword. With the weapon on hand he slashed at Naruto who only tried to dodge enough not to make it a bad wound.

The fiery blade sliced through Naruto's chakra shell, leaving a thin cut on his gut, which sealed itself quickly. Naruto knew that it meant Sasuke could still win this, even with Naruto's enhancements. Sasuke was on him again, attacking faster then ever. _'right, lets see your reaction to this!'_ Naruto swung his chakra claws at Sasuke, who jumped away to avoid them. He was about to rush in again, when he stopped to look at what Naruto was doing. A second tail was forming. Then a third. And then a fourth.

* * *

Sakura panicked when she saw the fourth tail emerge. Hinata saw her terror and became filled with the same emotion.

* * *

Tsunade actually bolted up out of her seat. She heard someone else asking "What is he?" But she ignored the question.

* * *

The leader smiled. "Well done nine. Well done Naruto."

* * *

Sasuke felt a momentary pang of fear, but it passed when he saw that Orochimaru's description didn't apply anymore. The four tailed form was supposed to create a corporeal shell which altered Naruto's appearance. Currently even with four tails Naruto still looked the same. Furthermore this state was supposed to send him into unconsciousness while the Kyuubi took control. But Naruto was still there, still smiling at him. _'He has trained to master even this advanced form. How much chakra can he use now?'_

Naruto really had to concentrate, and hope Sasuke didn't make his move to soon. He could remain conscious during a four tailed transformation, even control the chakra flow so that it wouldn't cause the damage and healing that was so dangerous to him. The problem was it took about a minute and a half after he brought the transformation on to reach that balance. If he was interrupted before then, the Kyuubi would break free and he would go mad.

Sasuke took a step forward. He could see the look of panic emerge in Naruto's face. _'Is he afraid of me, or afraid of the consequences should I act?'_ Sasuke backed off. He would wait courteously for Naruto to make the first move.

Naruto had his time. He found the equilibrium. He kept his smile on, and he lifted up a hand. His chakra claw shot out at Sasuke, who dodged and was next to Naruto, swinging down the fire blade. Naruto created a rasengan in his hand and blocked the weapon. Enhanced with demon chakra, the purple rasengan was able to hold off the weapon.

* * *

Sakura and Hinata had calmed down considerably, after realizing that Naruto was still in control. Hinata had even reactivated her byakugan to get a better view. It wasn't really needed to see them as they fought anymore though. Naruto had taken to performing long range attacks with his chakra claws, supplementing that with incredible speed whenever Sasuke got close. Sasuke on the other hand was either rushing in or a few quick strikes against Naruto, or launching incredibly powerful fire and lightning ninjutsu from a distance. He would sever the arm on occasion and was even getting hits in on Naruto's body. The chakra shell repaired itself and Naruto almost instantly though. 

Sakura continued to follow Sasuke's movements as closely as she could. "Incredible."

Hinata was following Naruto very closely with her telescopic vision. She could see that even after all these attacks and wounds his chakra flow hadn't lowered at all. "Naruto-kun…"

The two girls looked at each other. It occurred in their minds that they were in fact rivals of a sort. Hinata cringed at the thought, and Sakura smiled gently when she realized what Hinata was thinking. "I just hope they aren't to hurt when this is all over." Hinata nodded and was comforted. She looked back down at the epic fight.

* * *

Tsunade had sat back down quickly and became reabsorbed in the fight she was watching. Eventually she could feel eyes on her and she turned to face the other kages, who were stealing glances towards her. "Naruto is, unique." 

The Raikage turned away from the battle to face Tsunade. "I'm no fool Hokage. In the recent past two men wearing black cloaks came to my village and attacked one of my most powerful ninja. They didn't kill her, but they took her away. According to that Sannin of your village, they were akatsuki, and she is in fact dead now. I have seen the power of a jinchuuriki before, and I can easily recognize it. So, it's not just his appearance, or even his techniques, not even his name. What truly marks him as the legacy of the fourth hokage, is the spirit of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox that was sealed in his body. I am right?"

Tsunade nodded. The Tsuchikage seethed but remained calm on the outside.

* * *

The akatsuki leader smiled and nodded.

* * *

Neither knew how long they had bee fighting. Sasuke was marked by several slashes and chakra burns. Naruto had no visible wounds, but he was panting heavily, and had had to reduce the intensity of the chakra shell to remain in control. He had no time to rest, the chakra claws were beginning to lag against his commands, and this meant the demon's attitude was starting to leak into the chakra. 

Sasuke was also quite tired. The last time he was this tired, he had collapsed into Sakura's lap after she had treated him from near death. He thought of her now, of all times. As he dodged the chakra claws once more and shot another fireball towards Naruto. He dashed forward past the extended claws. He was right in front of Naruto. "Naruto, well played." Sasuke raised his much dimmer fiery sword and brought it down to slash Naruto along the chest.

Naruto saw the attack and his chakra shell thickened to stall the blade. Naruto dissipated the chakra claw on his right hand and reached up to punch Sasuke in the face. Sasuke dodged away and to the side, but was held up when he realized Naruto's other hand was holding onto the blade. Naruto's hand continued to approach Sasuke's face, so Sasuke bent away. Naruto opened his hand and his sharpened fingernails clawed across Sasuke's forehead protector, cleaving the metal plate in two and leaving a thin line of blood along Sasuke's head.

Sasuke couldn't help it, he smiled. And then he couldn't help himself even further, he laughed a little, not just on the inside but audibly. He released his fiery sword and with his now free hand he threw himself forward and punched Naruto.

Sasuke wondered what had really changed in all this time. And then he saw it. Naruto didn't go unconscious, instead he grabbed Sasuke's fist and reared his other hand back. It came forward and smashed into Sasuke's face. That was the change.

Sasuke flew away from Naruto and landed on his back in the dirt. When he landed he was unconscious, having used up almost all of his chakra and being covered in chakra burns from contact with the claws. The proctor moved in quickly and got a good look at the unconscious Sasuke. "WINNER: NARUTO UZUMAKI OF KONOHA!!!!!"

The crowds erupted into mixed cheers and shock. Bets were won, bets were lost. A number of people were starting to leave, the akatsuki leader among them. Hinata fainted, the first time in a long time. And Sakura was about to as well, but held the bar for support. Tsunade stood up and turned to bow to the other kages. While the Raikage stood and returned her gesture, the Tsuchikage was still a little shell shocked by all of this and merely nodded to her. Kiba and Shino were in something of a daze after seeing what Naruto could do, but followed Tsunade as she left the VIP box.

Naruto walked away from the field only after the medics had come and taken Sasuke.

* * *

'_Report.'_

'_They are retreating. Should we follow?'_

'_Do you think you could kill them all?'_

'_We have wounded as well, if we continue the fight there will be casualties on both sides.'_

'_Then it does not matter. Let them go.'_

'_Sir, I have 8 ready for extraction.'_

'_Excellent, this takes priority, you all know what to do.'_

'_Leader. What of 9?'_

'_He has impressed me. I will allow him to go home and see how the potentials deal with him. If it becomes to much trouble I may deal with him myself.'_

There was no response to that.

* * *

A/N: It's over at last. But you just know there won't be much time for rest. 


	30. Infiltration

A/N: This next section will be good to the Hinata fans I think. I won't spoil it and it isn't touched on very heavily in this chapter but give it some time.

Reviews:

Dragon: That's leaves only two demons left, 5 and Kyuubi. What will happen next?

Useful: Yeah I'm getting back on schedule over here.

* * *

Chapter 30: Infiltration

Scrape, crunch, drop. Scrape, crunch, drop. He heard the noises but could do nothing to react. A piercing beam of light shone into his eyes, blinding him momentarily.

"Father, I have found him." The young man bent down and picked up the decapitated head, holding it aloft by its hair. He held it up and jumped up out of the hole. Once on the surface he held the head out again, while other hands swiped it away.

Hidan recovered from the momentary shock of resurfacing. "Who are you?"

The man holding the head looked it right in the eyes. "Acquaintances of Zetsu's. Do you know where your ring hand is?"

Hidan was angry, but he thought best to just go along with these men. "I was blown up by several exploding notes, and dropped into a hole; I wasn't really paying attention to my individual parts. Where's Kakuzu he needs to put me back together."

The man tilted his head slightly, and suddenly erupted with a large toothy smile. "Well that's just too bad." His face changed again, this time to one of rage that even shook Hidan. He turned this face towards the young man. "GET BACK IN THE HOLE AND FIND THAT RING. FIVE FOR BRINGING ME THIS TRASH." His face softened as the young man jumped back into the hole to continue digging. Looking at Hidan once more with a very calm and peaceful face, he said, "Kakuzu is dead. You cannot be repaired. Akatsuki has no more use for you."

"WHAT!!! HOW DARE YOU ABANDON ME!!! GUAAA…" Hidan's rant was interrupted when the man's hand plunged into his mouth, and ripped his jaw off. Jawless and disembodied, Hidan fell to the ground, left to grunt and scream as the excavation continued.

Eventually, the young man once more surfaced from the hole and bowed before the man. "Father, here." He held out his open hand, in which was a dirty finger laden with a large ring.

The man snatched the ring and hugged the young man. "Well done my boy, you have earned the right to use your eyes again. Though you have still earned your lashes from earlier, I know, I shall be lenient, you may give them to yourself tonight."

"Thank you father." As he stood the man patted his head, slightly mussing his dark hair.

"Touching, but I really have to wonder what you were digging for out here."

The voice echoed from all around them, clearly a projection technique, to hide his location. The man turned and faced his son, who looked up at his father, turned and pointed towards a tree. The man reached down and pulled out a scroll, bit his finger and punched into the back of it. "Dead bone reshaping Jutsu!" A large white spike launched out of the scroll and rammed through the tree.

Shikaku was quick enough to move before his hiding place was destroyed. But he landed in the open, facing down the two of them. He looked over his opponents. He was a young man, couldn't be more then 13, with dark hair, the bangs which were draped down over his face concealing it. The other was far older, maybe 60, but didn't appear to be badly affected by his age, he was still holding the scroll, but the white bony spike had stopped coming out and broken off of the source. Too his relief neither was in the black robes of Akatsuki, but if they wanted to dig up here they were not to be trusted. He didn't want to risk letting either of them get any more attacks in, so he quickly knelt and launched his shadow out along the ground.

The young man quickly jumped, but the old man just stood there, allowing the shadow to mix with his own, locking him into a position mirroring that of Shikaku. As this happened a shadowy tendril shot off the side of Shikaku's outstretched shadow and reached up into the air. The young man was moving fast, but would still be caught by the tendril. With a flowing motion as he flipped through the air he took a strange stance, forming curled claws with his hands. He snapped one of his hands flat, and the tendril jerked away and faded. Shikaku had been knocked back by something, and the impact and increase in distance had broken his shadow hold on his enemy.

Shikaku caught his balance in time to see the young man advancing on him quickly. Shikaku raised his arms for hand to hand combat.

"That is enough." The boy stood over his thoroughly defeated opponent. "We will let him live. It makes transportation much easier with a living host. Now, prepare for the ritual."

"Yes, father. Should I lash myself first?"

The older man looked up at his son and smiled. "Bleeding during transportation is not good, the host may be contaminated. You may delay your lashes till another day, and you should only receive 4, as you have been exceptionally loyal." He stood and hugged his son. "My loyal son, my Issun."

* * *

It was one hell of a procession. As soon as it was known the Hokage had returned, along with two new Chunin who would be Jonin by the end of the day, people gathered. Knowing the names, which came slightly after the initial information inspired more people to come and see. Then the information about who had actually won the fight got around, and as Naruto walked trough the streets with Tsunade he almost believed that every single person in the village had come to crowd around their path. Somewhere in the confusion and noise, the small formal "bodyguard squad" had disbanded and disappeared into the crowds.

Hinata was actually already waiting at the Hokage's office building, which was already surrounded by villagers waiting to congratulate the new Jonin and greet the Hokage. She was accompanied by Sakura, while Kiba and Shino had stated they would get their own view from somewhere else.

* * *

Naruto was visibly exited and barely containing his excitement. Sasuke looked calm and cool. Stamp. Stamp. Sign. Sign. "It's done. You two are officially Jonin. Now get out of my office I've got a lot of work to do." This last bit she said while turning around, and her voice croaked a little. Naruto got the hint, she really was proud. He bowed, along with Sasuke, and they left the office.

The crowds had dispersed by the time they got outside, but there were still many friends gathered to show respect. Team guy, Kurenai, Iruka, and the rookie nine minus Shikamaru were all there. There was some chatting, with Sakura answering most of the many questions directed at Sasuke, while Naruto couldn't shut up. Eventually Iruka gathered enough relative silence to tell Naruto that everyone had chipped in to get them a special party at Ichiraku's. When they arrived they found that benches had been set up outside the bar proper, and the ramen was quick to be served up.

Between gulps Naruto found the time to ask "Where's Shikamaru? Couldn't show up for my promotion?"

Nearby Ino and Chouji grimaced. Chouji spoke up, "Shikamaru's father was injured during a walk in the woods. He's probably there."

Naruto actually put down his bowl of food, but it was Sakura who spoke. "How did he get injured?"

Ino looked away. "He was attacked. Hidan's body was partly dug up and he was lying unconscious by the hole. He hasn't woken up yet."

Naruto felt horrible, and clenched his fists. Chouji slammed his fist down into the table, gaining the attention of all the silenced party goers. "He told me before I came here that tonight was not for worrying about him and his problems. This is a night to celebrate the promotion of two honored friends." He reached down and picked up his ramen bowl. "Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha." He held his bowl up, and the partygoers around him slowly copied the motion albeit with their glasses instead of bowls.

From behind Chouji a newcomer came and was already holding a glass. Shikamaru held his glass up and repeated Chouji's toast, and quickly downed his drink. The rest of the table followed in suit, with Chouji guzzling from his ramen bowl. When all was said and done, Naruto placed down his drink and a tear rolled down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away and shot up, yelling out "So you all know about how I totally trounced Sasuke in the final round right!"

"NARUTOOOO!!!!" Sakura jumped up and onto the table slamming down her fist right for Naruto's head. It flew through the air and she fell off the table, landing awkwardly.

She moved herself into a more comfortable position and looked back up. Naruto was standing on the table, behind where she had been, standing right over the special shuriken he had been showing to people earlier. "You don't think you could just hit a Jonin on the head like that do you? HAHAHAHA!"

Naruto was laughing for a good moment, before he suddenly stopped. Slammed down into the top of his head was Sasuke's sheathed sword. He removed the weapon from Naruto's head and watched the hyperactive blond ninja tumble backwards off the table. Sasuke then jumped down and helped Sakura stand, prompting many looks and a great deal of silence. Ino finally broke it, "That doofus seriously beat Sasuke?!" Her comment opened the table to rampant conversation once more, while Sakura sat down with Sasuke, tightly gripping the hand he had helped her up with. Hinata had taken to madly shaking Naruto in attempts to wake him up. Kiba was making a rather loud comment about how Naruto and Hinata seemed to have switched positions in their relationship.

After the late lunch was finished it was well past nightfall, the people split and went their separate ways. Before Hinata could get away with the awake and slightly disgruntled Naruto, Neji stopped her. "Hinata." His voice was like ice that froze her spine. As she stopped walking Naruto paused and turned around to look at her face. Neji continued. "Hiashi is furious. He requests that you come home." She visibly shook when she heard this. "But I am just a messenger. Do what you want to, nee-san." Neji walked away.

Naruto stared at her for a moment, knowing all to well that it was him who was keeping her on such bad terms with her family. "Hinata, you can go home if you'd like. I know you must miss everyone."

Hinata considered this, allowing her eyes to dart back and forth as she thought of what to do. She could feel herself growing hot and beginning to stumble forward, when her eyes caught on Naruto's hand. She fell to her knees, but grabbed his hand with both of hers and pulled her self back up to her feet. He steadied her, and she leaned into him for more support. "Naruto…" He could feel her tightly grabbing his arm, and leaning into him. He started walking, bringing Hinata along with him, and he went straight to his apartment with no objections.

* * *

Sakura was home with Sasuke, sitting across from him in the living room. She chose to break the silence between them. "How does it feel to be a Jonin?"

Sasuke gave off one short laugh, which was enough to shock Sakura. "Sakura, thank you." That was another shock to Sakura. But Sasuke just kept going. "Sakura, tomorrow I was wondering if you could help with a few errands." He actually stood up and was walking over to her now.

She looked up at him wide eyed. He reached out his hand and she grabbed it, being hoisted up and pulled away, towards her bedroom.

* * *

'_Zetsu, their time is up, have they completed the mission?'_

'_They have Hidan's ring, and have infiltrated into Konohagakure. That is all.'_

'_Then they have failed. If they manage to get out of the village you are to take the rings and kill them.'_

'_Yes sir.'

* * *

_

The sun rose again. But they paid no heed to the patterns of day and night. They had rushed, for three days without rest, straight across forest, taking turns carrying the most injured among them. Finally they reached the city gates. At first they were not recognized, but the very tall one with long white hair pulled off his mask and was easily seen as Jiraiya the toad sage. His last words before he collapsed were "He needs medical attention…" He didn't specify anyone, and the two gate watchers weren't going to be picky. One rushed off to get some medics. The other stayed behind to try and stabilize the condition of the four men.

* * *

Sakura was leading Sasuke through the village to the places he needed for his errands, and was pleased to see that he had chosen not to bring his sword, something he had always brought on previous envoys through Konoha. As they walked out of one of the stores, Sakura was stopped by a ninja. "Sakura-san, I'm on my way to the hospital to get some medics, but four of our shinobi just arrived at the main gate. One looks to be seriously wounded, I think the others are just exhausted. Could you go and give a preliminary examination?"

Sakura listened to this and nodded at the end. She turned to Sasuke and silently asked the questions. Sasuke spoke aloud, breaking from his normal nods or grunts. "I'll go too." Sakura smiled and jumped up to the rooftops for quicker travel, with Sasuke right behind her.

When they reached the gate, both of them were frozen for a moment. Unconscious, unmasked, and on the ground in front of them were Jiraiya, Kakashi, Yamato, and Sai. Sai looked the worst out of all of them, so once she over came her initial shock she got to work checking his wounds out. Sasuke had stayed standing, and was staring very intently at Kakashi.

The medics arrived shortly thereafter with gurneys for the men. Sakura stayed with the medics, breaking only once when she saw Naruto and Hinata walking around. She jumped down and hurriedly explained the situation, prompting a loud "WHAT!!!!" from Naruto and gaining two new tag-alongs for their pack.

The hospital confirmed that only Sai was badly injured, the others were just tired from overuse of soldier pills. The three others were placed in a single room and were being allowed to rest. Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata decided to wait in the hallways and see what would happen.

* * *

Shikaku suddenly woke up, and his first reaction was to grab his gut. An indescribable pain had appeared, as if his abdomen were being ripped apart. To his horror the place where he was holding began to bulge and grow. He ripped off the sheets and looked as the growth continued. It ripped through the hospital clothing and bulged more and more. It was beginning to take shape, and with a loud thud, the bulbous mass of flesh actually ripped away and fell to the ground. Once separate a second similar bulge began to form in Shikaku's body.

The lump on the ground refined its shape and form, and was now clearly a fully clothed person. He stood up and turned to watch Shikaku as he writhed in pain over the second mass of flesh. Once it had detached and formed into a person as well, the two turned to look at the horrified Shikaku. The second one to appear, the older man who Shikaku had been fighting with, said "Go back to sleep." He pulled a syringe out of his clothing and before Shikaku could react it was plunged into his neck and he was unconscious. The man turned to his son. "Our escape will have caused his heart rate to spike; nurses may be on their way to check his condition. We should move. Lead the way, and find hallways with few other people. We need to find the morgue."

"Yes Father."

* * *

A/N: UH OH, Bad guys. 


	31. Infiltrators

A/N: There will be no authors note or reviews responses at the beginning of this chapter. Why you ask? Because I felt like it that's why.

* * *

Chapter 31: Infiltrators

"Son, are you sure you are headed the right way? I think we have looped around at least once."

"Forgive me father, I am avoiding hallways where we will run into other people, and to do so I need to take very round about paths." They came to another cross section in the hospital corridors. "The quickest way to the morgue would be that way, but we will have to pass by some people. What do you want to do?"

Kainu, as that was the man's name, looked down at his son and smiled. "Thank you for asking, I think we blend in well enough with the people of this village to pass by one group unsuspected. Take us along the quick route." Issun didn't turn to look at his father, but nodded and took the turn that would take them straight to the morgue.

They could hear voices as they approached walking down the hall. In front of them was a group of four young people. As they approached the group, save for one rather boisterous blond ninja, quieted down. "GAHHHHH! When are they gonna wake up!! I wanna know what they were doing out there all on there own. Leaving us behind like that…" He was rambling on like this. His companions didn't appear to be enjoying his company; the other boy was facing towards the ground with his eyes shut and his head slowly and gently shaking from side to side, the pink haired girl was clearly showing that she was annoyed by him, and the dark haired girl was staring at her feat with a slight blush.

The two of them tried to walk by nonchalantly, and the blond seemed quite alright with ignoring their presence and continuing his rant, though he was just repeating himself for the most part. "It makes me so mad when they won't trust us with this kind of information. They were our teammates after all. Aren't you even the least bit angry Sakura?"

Sakura raised her head a bit and sighed, stating "Not at the same things as you are…"

The blond didn't seem to care about what she had said, he continued. "Hinata-chan, you understand where I'm coming from right?"

"Hinata Hyuga?!" Kainu was frozen in place; he realized the implications that had just been put in front of him. Issun was the one who had spoken, turning so fast that his hair was whipped out of his face for a moment, revealing his face. Naruto had seen him, while the others had all looked up after they had realized that Naruto had stopped talking. Issun, his face once more hidden behind his long bangs slowly turned away from their small group.

Kainu turned and faced the group, and thinking as fast as he could he came up with a lie. "Are you in fact Hinata Hyuga? My, look at those eyes you must be! You are the heir to the clan aren't you?" He was smiling gently and he walked over to shake hands with her. She slowly reached up her hand and shook with. "It really is an honor to meet someone of such noble position in a place like this. Oh my! Is some one you know injured?"

She slowly shook her head and released his hand. The four konoha shinobi took the time to really examine the people before them. The older man who had shook Hinata's hand had short gray hair, and dressed in a long grey coat that had many pockets on the outside and, from the way it bulged in various places where there didn't appear to be pockets, the inside as well. The coat went all the way down to his ankles, and had a long zipper down the front, which left the coat open from the knee down. It had a high collar, so high in fact it would probably go over his entire face, which was left open and flopped about his shoulders and back. The coat had no sleeves, leaving his arms bare, though he wore gloves.

The younger of the two had very long dark hair, so long in fact that it surrounded his head on nearly every side, making them wonder how he could see through it to walk. It was cut to a uniform length around him, coming down just as far on his chest as onto his back. He wore a coat much like the other mans, but with far fewer pockets and the bottom was shorter coming down only to his knees, under which black pants were visible. His coat also had no collar, but had sleeves which came down to his wrists and folded back, going back up to his elbows because of their length.

Both of them wore the sandals which were a clear sign of ninja-hood. "Are you two shinobi?"

Kainu was forced to quickly come up with a lie again, but thankfully this one was easier. "Yes, A Chunin, never quite made it into the major leagues. But my son here is a talented Genin, the pride of my family."

The blond perked up again. "Hey mister pay your respects I out rank you HA HA! That's Right I'm a Jonin buddy!"

Before Kainu could respond Sakura lashed out. "Being a Jonin doesn't make you superior to everyone Naruto. You don't have to gloat it in everyone's face! Didn't you get enough from torturing Iruka last night?"

They broke out into an argument while Kainu considered this information. Being an accomplice of Zetsu's meant he was quite up to date on the organizations objectives, including the names of their targets. He could instantly recognize the description now. The boy in front of him was none other then Naruto Uzumaki, the jinchuuriki of the nine tailed demon fox. This was not his objective, but to pass it up would be insane. At the same time, could he risk creating an uproar now and failing to retrieve the ring?

"Well it was a pleasure meeting you here you youngin's, but me and my son must be on our way. Have a good day, and I wish whoever you are here for the best of health in the shortest time." Kainu turned and walked away, placing a hand on his son's shoulder to bring him along with him. After they were a good distance away Kainu said quietly "Take us to the morgue now. And 25 for that out burst. I will do them myself so that you learn not to lose your head."

Issun continued walking, but responded. "But father that was-"

"Silence. 15 more and more if you continue this. We will be going back to confront that boy and any of his friends in proximity after we have the ring. Leave everything till then." He picked up the pace and they found the way to back area of the hospital where dead bodies and their possessions were kept for examination.

* * *

Naruto had almost instantly picked up his rant about being deceived. Sakura wasn't really paying attention. She interrupted him. "Those two people we met, were weird don't you think?"

Her comment called the attention of the other three. It was Sasuke who was the first to respond. "I received the distinct impression that the man was lying."

Naruto squinted, showing that he was thinking. "You think? I dunno about that, but I thought there was something weird about the kid. When I saw his face for a second, I couldn't really place it he looked familiar." Naruto looked around at each of his friends, when his eyes hit Hinata he paused. "Hinata-chan." She looked up at him. "That's it; his eyes looked just like Hinata's. Was that a member of your family?"

Hinata raised her head a little and shook it. "I personally know every member of the Hyuga clan, and he wasn't a family member. Besides that man was his father and he didn't have the same look did he?"

Sakura looked a little worried. "Yeah Naruto are you sure you saw what you think you saw?"

Naruto got a little angry. "I'm positive. It's not exactly something I could be confused about. When I saw his eyes they were white without a black spot. Just like Hinata-chan's."

Sasuke stood up from leaning on the wall. "Something is wrong. I think we should check things out. Hinata, can you tell us where they went?"

She looked around shyly, but was egged on by them. "BYAKUGAN." The world around her changed, becoming hollow and transparent. She could see in all directions at once, but was focused on moving a certain part of her field of vision towards the direction the two had just gone down. She had to expand her vision considerably, but she too had trained for three years, and could quickly scan a large portion of the hospital. She found them, and saw what they were doing. "They are in the morgue examining a body." She focused in harder. "They're looking at his hands. They've closed the drawer and they're looking at the information in the file."

"Can you tell who the body was?" Sakura was the one asking.

"No, I don't recognize him, but he looks odd. He's covered in stitches, with thread coming out of him." Her comment caused Naruto to grab her shoulders. She could see his look with her vision; he was clearly shocked by this information.

Sakura was the one who spoke though. "They found Hidan's body dug up, and now two people are snooping around Kakuzu's corpse, this can't be coincidence, let's go." They listened to her and headed off after her.

* * *

"Find the place where they would put his belongings; it can't be far from here." Kainu was being very irritable right now.

"Yes father. Father, those people from earlier are coming after us. I think they may suspect us. I have found the place. I can see the ring." Issun said this all very monotone.

Kainu on the other hand descended into rage. "DAMN! Why do I have such accursed luck?!" His demeanor shifted, he was now very happy and smiling. "Oh well, guess I have no choice." Just as quickly he became very serious and solemn. He reached into two of his pockets and pulled out scrolls, rolling them out onto the floor. He bit his fingers and slammed his hands down into the scrolls. On top of each parchment there was now a dead body. "Kakuzu's body is to far damaged, even for my jutsu. If only I had had a chance though, he would have made an excellent clone." He held up his hands extending out the index and ring fingers on each. With a swift motion he slammed his extended fingers into the chests of the cadavers. "Corpse Clone Jutsu!" The cadavers began to writhe and shake. They were naked initially but clothing was beginning to form over them. The facial features also became warped, and began to reshape. After a minute or so, each corpse had become an identical clone of Kainu.

The clones stood up and faced their creator. "You know what to do. Kill the four brats that are following us. No wait. Here." He pulled a syringe from his coat and handed it to one of the clones. "We need the blond alive. Just knock him out with that." The clones nodded and turned to face the entrance to the room, while Kainu and Issun left through another door.

* * *

Hinata kept her Byakugan going as they moved through the halls. "Wait, something just happened. I think he created clones to hold us off, but it's odd how he created them."

Naruto turned around to look at her. "How did they know we were coming?"

Sasuke considered this. "If Naruto was right earlier, our opponent has a Byakugan as well."

"But that's Impossible isn't it? The Hyuga's protect their Kekkei Genkai above everything else." Sakura didn't want to believe the opponent could have such a powerful aid.

"Regardless, they know about us. We'll just destroy the clones quickly and keep following them." Everyone agreed with Sasuke.

But Hinata had more to say. "Shouldn't we tell someone about this? Get some help?"

Naruto turned to her and smiled. "We can totally handle this. Besides, it would just put the patients in a panic and we don't want that."

She nodded and followed after him.

When they reached the morgue they saw the clones, both of the older man, both brimming with confidence. There was silence and stillness for a long moment, before one of the clones asked "Do we all understand that I am not here for any benefit to Konoha, and that it is in your best interest to kill me?"

The four of them nodded, some more noticeably then others. "Good." The clone started forming hand seals, but was stopped when Sasuke was standing in front of him and gripping his left hand. The other clone moved to attack Sasuke, but he quickly moved away and bit his thumb, causing a kunai to appear in his hands. He moved forward and slit the throats of each clone, so fast they never even saw it.

Strangely, the clones did not disperse, despite the fatal wound. Rather, the clones throats healed, and they used the momentary surprise they had over Sasuke to move forward and attack him in unison. One slid his arms under Sasuke's and held him, while the other got in front of Sasuke and punched him in the face. Naruto jumped into the fray and pulled the clone off Sasuke's back. He pulled out his own kunai and stabbed the clone in the gut, while Sasuke did the same to the other. After they removed the kunai the wounds and clothing which had been damaged instantly repaired.

The clones laughed eerily in unison, and spoke the same way. "What's the matter boys? Can't handle a corpse clone?"

Sasuke thought the situation through. "Sakura, we can't lose the real ones. Take Hinata and follow them. We'll take care of these things."

Sakura nodded and grabbed Hinata, pulling her past the battle and out the other door to the room. Hinata objected at first, but Sakura shook her out of it by saying "Sasuke's right, we need to catch them, and you're the only one who can track them. We have to trust that they can handle those things. Don't you trust Naruto?" Hinata nodded, and followed after Sakura.

* * *

"Father, two of them are coming after us."

Kainu held up the ring. "It doesn't matter anymore; we have what we came for. It's time to kill them anyway. Which two are coming?"

"It's the Kunoichi."

"I see. Well then Issun, you will finally be able to meet your mother. I'm quite curious as to what kind of person she grew up into as well."

Issun had to work very hard not to show excitement at this prospect.

* * *

A/N: I said none at the beginning of the chapter. So as far as that chapter goes: MOTHER!!!!!! WTF!!!! DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!

Reviews:

Akakoken: Thanks for the compliments. By the way I like your name.

Useful: That's what I'm trying to do, but in my story he tends to impede his own progress a lot, it's a hard transition for him to make.

Dragon: Lets see where things go…


	32. Heritage

A/N: I'll be busy over the weekend so I might not update quite as much as I normally would, won't have much access to a computer. I will try to get at least one more chapter up though.

Reiews:

A-Bomber: I don not like time travel fics. So NO!

Useful-Mage: Thank you that is the reaction I was going for.

Dragon: I want to issue a very specific thank you to you. As far as I'm aware, you've reviewed every chapter of this fic. However, I would like to ask you very politely to GET THE #$ OUT OF MY HEAD!!!! STOP READING MY MIND PLEASE!!!! Lol.

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Chapter 32: Heritage

"They're waiting for us, right ahead."

"Then let's move!" Sakura shoved the doors open and readied herself for an attack. In front of her were the two people from earlier, with only slight changes. They were now wearing Kumogakure headbands with gashes through them horizontally. The young boy's was also serving the purpose of pushing back his hair, revealing his face. His eyes were white and pupil-less. There was no mistaking the Byakugan.

Kainu smiled gently. "Hello, Sakura, was it. And of course Hinata as well. I wasn't lying earlier when I said it was an honor to meet you, though I did lie about why it was honor." He saw Hinata also tense up for battle. "Must we fight my dear? In front of our child?"

That comment through Sakura off. "I think he's crazy Hinata, don't be thrown off. You see how they cut their headbands? That means these guys are part of Akatsuki. They will be tough, but we have to be strong and take them down."

Kainu's face suddenly contorted into one of rage. "I JUST SAID I DID NOT WANT TO FIGHT IN FRONT OF MY CHILD BUT If YOU INSIST I CAN MAKE AN EXCEPTION!" He pulled out a scroll and it flew open into the air, he punched it in the back.

Sakura and Hinata had both seen Tenten fight in the past, so they knew to jump away. They were however surprised to see what came out of the scroll, a large bony spike, which stabbed through the air near where Sakura had been standing. Loose from the scroll the spike fell to the ground and bounced before settling. Sakura was already rushing forward to attack. She was intercepted by the young boy. He raised his hand, open palmed, to slam it into Sakura's chest, but she dodged away at the last moment.

"Issun, get over here and say hello to your mother." Kainu was standing in front of Hinata, who was very confused by his comments.

* * *

Nothing worked. Naruto and Sasuke were unharmed so far, but they were unable to so much as dent the clones in front of them. The clones had been able to completely shrug off kunai, broken bones, fire jutsu, and even the rasengan. Any wound would just heal instantly. The clones also didn't seem to be fatiguing at any of this, and continued to advance with all the same speed as before. "Damn it, how do you kill these things?"

The clones laughed. "You can't. We're corpse clones, we're already dead."

Sasuke didn't break eye contact with the clone which he had been fighting. He had not wanted to use such a technique in a hospital where there could be injuries, but this was a morgue, and he would control himself. "Chidori Katana!" He whipped the lightning blade and sliced the clones in half.

To his and Naruto's shared horror the clone's torso's while still in midair reached their arms down and grabbed their respective lower halves. Each pulled itself back down onto its legs, and the slice closed itself off. The clones laughed harder then ever as they rushed forward to continue their assault.

Sakura was getting up again and running to attack the older man, but as she approached he quickly turned around and launched more bony projectiles at her. This time they took the form of a large cage which wrapped around her, and fell to the ground, jarring her. It was loose enough that she could edge out of it, so she started to wriggle her self free.

Hinata saw this but didn't say anything, she just held her battle stance. Old thoughts of her worthlessness were surfacing, but she forced them away and tried to focus. She was about to move and attack, but the older man placed his hand on the boy, Issun's, shoulder, and began to talk. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Kainu, and I happen to be the father of this young boy here, just as you are his mother Hinata Hyuga."

Hinata stopped, wondering what on earth he was talking about. She didn't have to wonder for very long, as he continued talking. "This must come as a shock to you Hinata. I can't be sure if you're a virgin or not, but I'm fairly sure a girl of your age has never given birth, and beside all that you may be curious as to how you have a son that is 12 years old, which would have made you 4 when he was born. I can explain though. Through the science of genetics, this is all very possible. Do you remember an incident where you were kidnapped as a child? By a ninja from Kumo?"

She could only barely remember the incident, but she did remember her father telling her about it afterward. "That was no ordinary ninja my dear. He was in fact, though secretly, a master medical ninja. He was sent to Konoha and ordered by me to bring me a member of your family if he could, but knowing the odds were slim that he would succeed there was also a contingency plan. Before he even removed you from your room, he had stored in vials samples of your blood, hair, skin, and even an undeveloped egg from your tiny little girl ovaries. He then hid the samples inside his own body with a secret technique I taught him. Even after he was dead, and his body was returned to us after your village's autopsy, we were able to find and remove the samples.

Hinata's heart was pounding, and her eyes were wide. She felt filthy, as if she had been violated by this man in front of her, but she was beginning to understand what else this implied. "With those samples, and my own contribution, I was able to create Issun, our son."

The disgusted, violated feeling reached its maximum. Hinata stumbled backwards a step. "No…"

The man looked hurt. "What's the matter Hinata? I thought you would be overjoyed to meet your son."

Hinata took another step backwards. She was also pulling her arms to her chest, and could feel tears building in her eyes. "No…"

Kainu tilted his head, his hurt face was only making Hinata feel worse. "You're not ashamed of him are you? He wanted so badly for you to proud of him."

Hinata's eyes met with the young boy's, and he did indeed look saddened by something. "No…"

"Mommy?"

His voice was so small, and so timid. But it was enough to fully break Hinata. "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" She fell to her knees and grabbed her head, shaking it wildly.

Kainu spoke again, but now his voice was different, there was malice in it. "She hates you Issun. Just as I said she would. This is why I protected you from her all these years. She doesn't love you. No one cares about you at all. Except me. Only your dear father Kainu wants to help you, to keep you alive. These others will only abandon you, or worse, try to kill you. And what must you do in these situations?"

Issun's voice was also different now, tainted with his father's malice. "Kill them before they kill me. Protect my existence and the existence of my father." Hinata looked up and saw the young boy taking a battle stance. It was similar to the Juken, but rather then flat palms his fingers were curled into claws. "Die, mother." He moved forward and Hinata was locked in place by the stare from his activated byakugan. He was aiming for her heart, for a kill.

Sakura finally freed her self from her bony cage and rushed over grabbing for the young mans arm. He easily evaded her and counterattacked by gently patting her on the side. As he moved away, Sakura gripped the side of her body. _'Damn, just a tap and…' _She channeled her chakra and the pain receded, it had been meant to simply incapacitate her, not kill her so he was able to treat it fairly quickly.

Kainu watched her and smiled. "Take care of mommy Issun. I will take care of this one."

Sakura chose to oblige him, and ran forward throwing her fist at his face with enough chakra to break the main gate of Konoha. He caught her fist as if it were nothing. Se stared at where her hand connected with his in disbelief. He laughed. "Little girl, you are a great distance out of your depth. These gloves are very special; you see they only allow chakra to flow through them outward, not inward, so a chakra charged punch will have no effect." He gripped her hand so tightly she couldn't pull it away at first. "I imagine you spent so much time learning that chakra punch that you haven't really worked on building actual muscle mass. You aren't really all that strong if you can't use your chakra."

He released her fist and she pulled back, while he stood laughing silently. _'So he can block my attacks with his hands, I'll just hit him somewhere else!!'_ Sakura ran forward and started sending punches his way.

Kainu dodged and blocked with his hands. "Young lady, I highly advise against punching me, it may end badly for you, I'm actually blocking your attacks to spare you."

She kept punching at him. "Like I'll believe that!" One of her attacks finally went by his defenses, and she impacted on his body. The coat he wore shredded after she hit it, and she recoiled her arm. Wrapped around a great deal of her arm was what looked like an octopus.

Kainu smiled and chuckled. "My you chose a bad place to unleash a lot of chakra. That happens to be a leech squid. Very rare species. It feeds on chakra you see, and once it attaches to a host, the only way to remove it is to either amputate what it has bonded to or to burn it, which the side effects of doing so usually have the same end results. You really do need to chose quickly though, the longer the squid remains attached the more chakra it will devour and the larger it will grow."

Sakura fell to her knees, and started shoving off the creature. It bound to her as if it were her skin she were pushing on, and it was slowly reaching its tendrils farther up her arm. She pulled a kunai out of her pocket and stabbed it, angling so she wouldn't hit herself. It did appear to be injured, but rather then jump away it began to tighten on her arm to the point of pain. She pulled the kunai out and the creature began to loosen its squeeze.

As she continued to run through every option in her mind, she glanced at Hinata, who was cowering in a corner of the room while Issun slowly approached.

Things were not going well.

* * *

"Hey Sasuke, you got any wire?" Naruto asked quietly as they passed each other, backing away from their target clone.

Sasuke understood his plan, and as soon as the clones landed where he and Naruto had been standing Sasuke brought the wire shurikens out of his arm seals and sent them flying around the two clones. The wires wrapped tight and bound the clones to one another, the shuriken embedding into their flesh to fully bind them.

Naruto smiled. "Got you now."

"Oh really?" The clones stood up together, and the wire began to sink into their bodies. The wire was becoming loose as it slowly slid through the clones, within moments it would have sliced completely through them, rendering them free.

'_Damn'_ Sasuke made hand seals and said "Katon: Dragon Fire Jutsu!!!" The massive flame didn't have to travel very far before it immolated both of the clones. In the cramped room the fire was very hot, and Naruto raised his arm to shield his face. The fire quickly dispersed, and laughter emanated from where it had been. The clones stepped forward, while the charred flesh on the top of their bodies either fell off or just transformed back into healthy looking skin. Each clone stepped toward a different target.

Naruto couldn't stand it. "Come on!! Stay down damn it.!!!"

The clone that was closer to him started to talk, while his body continued to repair itself. "I told you, we're corpse clones, we are already dead. Killing us is impossible."

"Naruto!" Naruto looked past the clones and saw Sasuke talking to him. "Defeating the creator of a clone will always destroy his clones. The fact that they are still working means that Hinata and Sakura haven't won yet. They may be in trouble. Go and help them. I will keep these things under control."

"No. You should go help them, I can create clones to so let me hold off these things."

"Don't be stupid Naruto. You don't have room in this hospital to throw shadow clones everywhere. And besides, you are the stronger between us aren't you? Isn't that what they need?"

Naruto smiled. "Yeah I guess you're right. Catch!" Naruto threw a kunai to Sasuke, who caught it by the blade and held it out. Naruto suddenly disappeared and reappeared next to Sasuke and took the kunai. "Don't get to beaten while I'm gone!" Naruto ran out of the doors that Hinata and Sakura had left through, which were right behind Sasuke.

"Bad move buddy, we outnumber you now." The clones leapt back into the combat.

* * *

The creature was gripping at Sakura's shoulder now, and she could really feel the loss of chakra starting to affect her. She had considered everything, but there was nothing in this room that could be used to burn the creature off of her. Sakura hated how thoroughly they had been beaten, without ever so much as scratching the enemy. She was trying desperately to stand, but reasoned that this monster must put a neurotoxin into its victims to prevent that. She could barely move, was being drained of her chakra, and would be dead if it continued to grow like this.

Hinata was still cowering in the corner of the room, holding her head and staring intently into the eyes of Issun, her son. Issun was glaring down at her, ashamed and enraged. "Stand and fight me. Or should I kill you in such a cowardly position?"

Hinata couldn't respond. Her mind was still trying to make sense of this whole scene. _'It can't be true. It can't be true. IT CAN'T BE TRUE!!!! I can't… I never… I wouldn't… No. Please no. Naruto… Naruto I'm sorry… Naruto…' _She covered her eyes with her hands, and waited for her death at the hands of her son.

"HINATA!!!" Naruto had just barged into the room and assessed the situation as quickly as he could. Kainu turned to look at the intruder, while Issun could see him through his peripheral vision. Naruto threw his kunai at the boy, and he caught it effortlessly. Naruto materialized next to the young shinobi and punched him square in the face, much too fast for him to react.

As the young boy flew away, and as he landed on his back, Hinata cringed and started to cry. Naruto heard her and turned to her, crouching to get a better look at her. "Are you ok Hinata? Did they hurt you?"

She shook her head. "No, but Naruto that boy…He's…He's…" Her voice sunk so quiet Naruto could only barely hear her. "my…"

"Get away from my mother, I have to kill her." Issun was standing again.

Naruto was confused as he looked at the young boy. He was also so focused he failed to react to the movements of the other enemy. He fell to the ground, wrapped in a tight bone cage, slightly modified from the version that had captured Sakura previously so that it gripped around the top of his shoulders and prevented any kind of escape. Kainu lowered his scroll and turned to Issun. "Go ahead son. Give her what she deserves. No more interruptions."

* * *

A/N: Looks Like Naruto wasn't much help, I guess its all up to Hinata. Lets here it readers, can she come through?!!?! (and I might determine her peformance on how supportive you guys are of her.)


	33. Self

A/N: Wow, that's some good support. Unfortunately I needed to see 20 unique reviews cheering Hinata on for her to get a flawless victory. It fell far short of my expectations so I'm afraid she's gonna get a little beat up. But I could just be making these numbers up and already have this entire thing planned out in my head way before I even posted chapter 30.

Reviews:

Avatar: Yes he does have a birth mother, But she wasn't very important as will be shown in the chapter after this one. As for Naruto getting out of the cage, it's pretty tight, so tight in fact that his hands are forced flat against his sides.

Jekiam: If loving my work is being picky, then by all means be as picky as you want to. And she turned away and turned off her byakugan, I thought that was implied. Thanks for reading and all the cliché author stuff.

Flex: Thanks, glad you like the story so much. (more cliché author comments YAY!!) Sorry about being cliché, but I really don't know what else to say.

Avatar-Paul-Eyes-Nosomo: Lots of Issun hate.

* * *

Chapter 32: Self

"Why are they calling Hinata someone's mother?! What is going on here?!" Naruto squirmed inside his bony cage, straining his brain to connect the dots and failing.

Sakura was tired, but she had to answer him, Hinata wouldn't. "That boy…is, biologically…Hinata's son."

Naruto looked over at Sakura, the first time he had since arriving. "Sakura your arm... Wait WHAT?!"

"That boy is her son…but…listen Hinata…Don't be confused…He will hurt you…Us…You have to…Defend…" Sakura couldn't talk anymore; the creature had wrapped tendrils around her throat and was squeezing so hard she could barely breathe.

Issun was slowly advancing on Hinata again. When she looked up at him he had changed. He looked slightly older, and his clothing had changed into a tan short sleeved jacket and black shorts. His right arm was wrapped in bandages, and his headband was now an unscratched Konoha. He was also talking to Hinata, but his voice seemed distant and muffled, and yet she knew what he was saying. 'Give up. You're not suited to become a ninja.' The voice was muffled worse for a moment. 'People cannot Change. A failure is a failure. Their personality and power will not change.'

It occurred to her that she wasn't looking at Issun anymore, she was staring at Neji. Her surroundings had also changed; she was in the room where the preliminaries for her first Chunin exams had been held. All that was missing were the crowds that had been watching. _'Have you changed at all Hinata?'_

She was still cowering on the ground, but she found courage enough to speak with the apparition. _'Yes…I've changed. I became a Chunin.'_

'_Your title. That has changed what about… you?'_

Hinata was suddenly aware that she was, in this place, her younger self again. She had been reduced to nothing but a cowering, shivering little girl by this genjutsu. No, there was no genjutsu, just Hinata's own mind. She once more grabbed her head and began to shake it, trying to get rid of this image.

Another voice was there now, in the same room. _'Do what you like with her. A defect who is even weaker than Hanabi, someone five years her junior is not needed in Hyuga.'_ Her father was standing next to Neji, looking away from her.

Hinata felt herself shrinking even smaller.

'_Neesan! Neesan! Look! See what Father taught me to do!! Can you do this too?'_ Now Hanabi was standing on the other side of Neji, holding aloft a hollowed out log with a broken vial in the center of it.

Hinata felt herself becoming even smaller.

'_Have you ever changed Hinata?' _Neji stepped forward, away from the other two, and closer to Hinata, who was now comparable to the size of an infant. Neji kneeled down but still towered over the diminutive Hinata. _'Can you ever change?'_

'_Hinata!'_

Something somewhere had said her name. She didn't understand why, but she felt emboldened suddenly, and she also grew slightly. _'Yes.'_ Hinata's body continued to grow, and Neji stepped away.

'_Hinata!'_

The voice echoed out again. _'I have changed. Not completely, but I have changed. I'm bolder.'_ She remembered grabbing Naruto's arm the night he came to the hospital to see her. _'I'm stronger.' _She remembered watching the Kunai dislodge itself from the log, while not so much as a scratch was left where she had hit it, and how Naruto had cheered for her and hugged her. _'And I'm more confident.'_

Neji, Hiashi, and Hanabi were all staring at her now, and they spoke in unison. _'What memories do you have to tell yourself that?'_

Hinata had rapidly aged back to her true state. _'Right now. Because I'm not going to listen to you anymore.' _

The three people who had always represented Hinata's self doubt suddenly hazed away. In their place Hinata was looking at herself. _'You think you can do that?'_

'_Yes. Because I have people I need to protect.' _The Hinata of self doubt shattered, leaving her looking at the only other person in this room. She wasn't certain when he had shown up, but she was aware of it now. Naruto was gazing down at her from the observation level, looking proud. Then his face changed into fear and shock, and Hinata could see a bone like cage wrapped around his body.

"HINATA!!!!"

Hinata's Byakugan activated instinctively and she moved her head to the side just enough to avoid the outstretched fingers of Issun crashing down. She made several more swift movements on the ground, dodging his attacks and forcing him back so that she could stand up. Once standing, she took her battle stance, one Issun had never seen before. "Protection of the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-four Palms." Hinata stood straight up, absolutely still, but was slowly and methodically waving her arms around herself in a pattern.

Issun prepared his own stance, his legs spread wide, his arms reached out, one pointed down and toward Hinata, one up and away. "Eight Trigrams: Sixty-four Palms." He rushed forward and began the assault, timing it to avoid her arm movements. "Two palm!!" Hinata deflected both attacks with incredibly swift movements of her arms. He continued. "Four palm!! Eight palm!! Sixteen palm!!" It was becoming difficult to keep the attacks going. Normally for the Eight Trigrams technique to work the opponent must be continuously pushed backwards, momentum must be maintained. But Hinata was able to deflect each attack without moving at all. Worse, she seemed to be changing her aim slightly, coming closer to something. "THIRTY-TWO PALM!!!!"

Hinata adjusted her aim again, and finding the timing right, sent out her chakra to form her blades. As she blocked his incoming attacks she also sliced his hands in several places. After just fourteen of the thirty-two strikes Issun backed away, bleeding profusely from his hands. Hinata took the opportunity to run over to the silent Sakura and jab her fingers into several points along the creature's body. The squid like monster undulated, shriveled and died, falling to the ground.

Kainu tilted his head slightly. _'Perceptive, she was able to see that thing's chakra points and disable its ability to feed.' _"Issun! Stop playing around. Show your mother your true strength. The strength of the last living heir to the Hyuga family's main line. The power that no Hyuga ever before you could gain."

Issun shook the blood off of his hands, though it continued to flow. He took a new battle stance. His legs were bent, with the right behind him and the left forward though only slightly. His left arm was straight, and opened flat so the palm faced forward. His right arm was brought back behind his head, and the hand was curled into a claw. Hinata could see with her Byakugan that he was gathering chakra into a small sphere suspended between his fingers and thumb. Issun opened his eyes. "Eight Trigrams: Infinite Empty Palms"

He pulled his left had back, curling it into a claw, and simultaneously brought his right hand forward, opening it. As his arm extended and his palm flattened, the chakra orb became distorted. When his arm was straight, the orb exploded, and launched forward like a bullet. Hinata couldn't dodge or defend herself, the chakra bullet impacted in her chest, right on a chakra point. The chakra point was closed. And Issun was preparing to bring his left hand forward to perform another such attack.

Hinata moved herself in an attempt to dodge the next bullet, but he perfectly predicted her movements and the empty palm strike closed off another chakra point. When she regained her balance again she raised a hand to deflect the next attack with a chakra burst of her own. He launched the bullet, and she intercepted with her chakra blade. No chakra point was cut off, but the recoil was so great Hinata couldn't defend against the next attack at all, which closed a vital chakra point in her left arm. Without it, she could not get any chakra to her left hand.

Issun didn't let up. Hinata made valiant efforts to dodge or deflect the bullets, but after a short time, she fell to her knees and hands, unable to channel chakra through most of her body.

Naruto strained against the sides of his cage harder then ever. "HINATA!!!"

She heard his voice and tried to stand up, but couldn't. "Naruto-kun."

Issun launched another bullet into Hinata, causing her to wince in pain. Another shot and she was flat on the ground, unable to hold herself up. The next shot missed Hinata entirely, instead ramming into Sakura, who had just stood up and tried to move to Hinata's aid. Sakura couldn't move nearly fast enough, within moments her arms were disabled and her legs quickly followed in suit. She crumpled to the ground nearby Hinata. "Sorry, Hinata, I couldn't help."

Hinata couldn't turn to see Sakura's face, but she responded anyway. "No Sakura. I should have done better. I tried to protect you all, and I failed."

Issun pulled back both his hands, preparing to finish the girls off.

Hinata tilted her head up. She cringed as the attacks were about to be launched. "Please don't!"

Issun froze.

* * *

'_Damn it Naruto, what's taking you so long? You should have beaten him by now shouldn't you?'_ The clones seemed to be picking up in speed, but Sasuke knew it was only because he was getting slower. If this fight went on much longer the clones would actually start to have an advantage, if only because they were unbeatable. What Sasuke hated the most was that they wouldn't stop laughing.

At some point a doctor came in yelling, "What is going on in here-"

Sasuke was quick to react. "Get out of here and go straight for the Hokage's office. These men are s-class criminals who have infiltrated Konoha. Total of four. MOVE."

The clones attempted to attack the young medic, but Sasuke was able to intercept their attacks and keep them contained in the room.

'_Hurry it up Naruto, that help won't get here in time.'

* * *

_

Issun appeared as if he was shoving down on an invisible barrier, unable to throw his hand down and onto Hinata's spine, which would destroy it and kill her instantly. He was struggling against this barrier and shaking with the stress his efforts were putting on his body.

'_What? What is he doing? Oh god damn it. The brainwashing keyword is patterned to 'Parent' not 'Father'. Even she can give him orders which his brain will be unable to deny. It appears I have been trying to have too much fun torturing this young woman. I hate being merciful, but if she begins to understand the power she has over him things could get messy.'_ Kainu stepped forward and pulled out his scroll. "Step aside Issun; she is trying to trick you. Allow me to take care of this."

Issun's stress faded instantly and he stepped away. Hinata tried with all her might to lift herself up, just enough to see Issun's face. "Why did you stop?" Issun's head began twitch slightly, and his lips began to move slightly, but no sound came out. Hinata continued while Kainu drew his scroll. "Please, if you don't want to kill me, then don't let him do this."

Issun's breathing picked up in pace. "I want to kill you."

"Silence Issun, do not tell her anything!" Kainu had his scroll drawn and bit his finger.

"Then why did you stop? Tell me!" Hinata was actually working up the will power to lift herself up off the ground slightly.

Kainu stopped his procedure to turn and face Issun, who had been about to speak. "Do not answer her Issun! If you so much as think of answering her then Fifty!"

"Tell Me Please!!!"

"I MUST OBEY THE ORDERS OF MY PARENTS!!!!! GAHHHHH!!!!" Issun grabbed his head and dropped to his knees after he said this.

Kainu kicked Hinata in the face, causing her to lose her balance and fall back to the ground, bleeding from her nose. After that he turned to Issun and drew a whip from one of his coat pockets. "FIFTY! NOW! I WILL SAVE YOU FROM YOUR DISOBIEDIENCE!!!"

Issun turned away from Kainu unzipped his cloak, allowing it to slide off his back. The sound of a snapping whip could be heard in the room, along with Kainu counting.

Hinata slowly began to lift herself up again, and could see. Issun's back was completely covered in scars, some fresh, and several which were being made in this most recent assault. Yet Issun just sat and took it. "Why are you letting him do this to you?"

Between lashes Issun managed to speak. "I…must…o…bey…my…par…rents…"

Kainu kicked Hinata in the face again, and she fell back to the floor. "TWENTY-FIVE MORE! THIS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL YOU ARE OBEDIENT TO ME! I ORDERED YOU NOT TO SPEAK!! NOT TO RESPOND TO HER!!!" Kainu kept whipping.

Hinata didn't even bother lifting herself up again. "Don't. You don't have to let him do that. You don't have to do what he tells you to."

Issun caught the whip ass it descended. Kainu was furious. "ISSUN! COMMAND: ANMIN!!!"

Issun, stood still for a moment, and then fell over, unconscious. Kainu reached down and grabbed Hinata's hair pulling her up straight and off of her feet. "You little bitch. You try to steal my son from me? I will kill you for this." He pulled out his scroll and held it in his teeth. He punched the back and a large bone shot out and through Hinata's gut, spraying Sakura who was still behind her with blood.

"HINATA!!!!!!!!!!"

* * *

"HOKAGE-SAMA!! THERE ARE INTRUDERS IN THE HOSPITAL MORGUE!!!" The medic was panting and hodling the doorframe for balance.

"What?! Who are they?" Tsunade stood up as soon as she heard this.

"I don't know, I only saw two, they were fighting with a Konoha ninja, a young man with black hair and red eyes. He told me to get help from you; he said there were four."

"Damn! Shizune! Send out the call, get some Jonin there NOW!" She ran out of the office. _'Damn, could the special squad have been tracked? It doesn't matter, their here in our home. I'm not going to allow this to continue, I will end this fight."

* * *

_

A/N: Things don't look so good, but help is on the way. Will it be enough? You'll have to wait two chapters to find out, as the next one is a flashback chappie.


	34. One Son

A/N: Like I said this is a flash back chapter which will explore in-depth how Kainu and Issun came to be.

Reviews:

Rasengan: If you missed the explanation in the other chapter I go over it in this one too.

Dragon: Excuse me for the "claw" thing. It's the way I describe having your hand open, with the fingers spread out and curled slightly but not touching. It's the hand position he uses as a catalyst for his makeshift empty palm technique.

Abomb-Paul: No comment.

* * *

Chapter 34: One Son 

The young cloud ninja walked behind his superior. He had been singled out and selected for a top secret research project, and had gladly accepted, and now here he was being guided through the halls of the Kumogakure hospital. He thought about speaking, asking a question, but when a job is defined as "top secret" it is usually a good idea to never ask questions. They were in the way back areas of the hospital, in a wing that had been closed down. His guide, a tall bespectacled man with a long grey coat turned and spoke with him for the first time. "Our boss will want to know your name, he will ask for it. It is best not to give him your real name; it no longer holds much meaning here. What will you call yourself?"

He thought about this for a minute. "What should I call myself?"

His guide was very solemn. "Our agents normally choose names based on their abilities. Their contributions to the team. I was chosen for my skill in artificial cellular generation; hence, my name is Jink."

He thought about it again. "Okay, my name will be Kainushi."

His guide smiled for a moment and nodded. "Kainu, we shorten them down. Jinkou became Jink, see?"

He nodded and watched as the guide touched the wall with his index finger and wrote invisibly "Open". Kainu waited for the wall to open up, but instead the floor shook, and began to drop slowly. They lower dint a pitch dark room, and the light was completely gone when the hole they just descended through closed itself above them. Trapped in the darkness, Kainu looked around in futility. A voice on an intercom resonated in the cramped space. "Number and name."

Kainu was about to ask but Jink spoke "#31. Jink." The platform was moving again, but Kainu couldn't tell which way at first. His momentum and the slight movement of the air around him told him it was spinning. With a loud thud it locked into place and a door opened where they had been facing. The bright white fluorescent lighting blinded Him for a second, but he didn't want to appear weak. He opened his eyes and stared into it, waiting for something to happen. Jink poked his head back around the door's frame and asked "Are you coming or not?"

Embarrassed to no end Kainu stepped through the door into a long white corridor which stretched on to the left and the right. Jink had gone to the right, so Kainu followed. They passed several doors and long windows which pointed into clean rooms. Eventually Jink stopped and looked into one of the rooms. "The boss won't mind a slight delay, I have been working on this and I want to see it. Here." He pulled a vial out of one of his coat pockets and emptied into his hand. He handed it to Kainu.

It was a small white lump, which Kainu could easily identify as a bone fragment. He turned it over in his hand but couldn't find anything wrong with it. Jink redirected his attention to the window. There was now a man standing in the room. He held his hands in a seal and started focusing chakra. He finished and held the chakra in his right hand, while he reached his left into his pocket and pulled out a similar bone fragment. Several targets appeared at the other end of the room. He lobbed the bone fragment into the air and slammed his right hand into it.

Immediately the room was filled with a growing white tree of bones, spikes of which pierced each of the targets. Kainu was amazed, but Jink shook his head. "We still can't control the backlash from the circulating chakra." Kainu looked back at the man who had launched the attack, and saw that his hand and arm had been pierced and shredded in many places by bony spikes.

Jink grabbed his shoulder and led him away. "I know your expertise is centered on psychology, specifically altering the minds of people to suit your needs. You were chosen for this team based on those talents. However, this team covers many projects, and as such any and all opinions are appreciated. If you could help me get these bone fragments to work properly, I'd even let you keep one, speaking of which I need that back."

Kainu handed the bone fragment back to Jink, who placed it back in the vial and in his pocket. "You're curious aren't you? It's a fragment of bone that has been molecularly reconstructed from that of a member of the Kaguya clan. We've redesigned it to react to chakra, even from an external source. The problem is that chakra flows in a circle, with a portion leaving the body and the rest cycling back into the chakra circulatory system. The growing bones follow that chakra, ripping apart the body until the flow is insufficient to maintain the growth. No time for this now though, we're here." Jink opened the door that they had come to.

Kainu walked in and jumped a little when the door slammed behind him. "For a psychologist who should understand the persona that must be put forth to receive the best reaction, you are acting rather cowardly. But then it is acting. Knock it off." This room was different. The walls were black, and there was only one hanging light inside that lit it dimly. On the opposite wall there was a large bank of screens, and beneath them was a desk with keyboards.

Kainu had never seen so many computers before, so he was distracted from the statement, momentarily. He straightened his posture, closed his mouth completely stopping the quivering in his lips, and he brushed a hand through his hair. "Well I thought it would be appropriate and becoming for the surroundings."

"HA! Had that been your actual personality I would have gutted you. You were chosen specifically after the incident on your last mission." Kainu smiled slightly when remembering it. "Your team was captured by four rock ninja, who accused you of being aid to Konoha. They attempted to torture information on Konoha's positions from you, but since you knew nothing you couldn't give them any information. You took it upon yourself to get out alive, and through use of your observations and carefully placed stealth you convinced the soldiers to systematically murder each other. I won't ask how you did it, I don't care. Rather, I just want your assistance in my operation. What's your name?"

"Kainu, sir."

"And what is it short for?"

"Kainushi."

"Hmmmmmm… Fitting. So you have already figured out your task in this operation?"

"Considering what I have been told, and what I have seen, it seems that this place is aimed towards harnessing the powers of the kekkei genkai of every nation, no doubt to create a formidable fighting force under the service of the Raikage for the wars. I imagine my position is to make sure that the successful products are fit for service mentally. In other words undyingly loyal to our country and its leader. How close am I?"

The voice, as that was what he had been talking to thus far, suddenly had a body to it. One of the swivel chairs that lined the desk spun around and a rather short man hopped out laughing slightly. "Well done. You are hired, and we will put you to work right away. Your salary will be in food and material. You may keep a copy of any experiments that reach fruition through your influence. Now get out of my office."

Kainu bowed, and walked out. Jink was still waiting for him. "I suppose you will lead me to my workstation?"

Jink smiled and started walking. "Glad to meet the real you, Kainu. You won't have any of your own stuff to work on right now; none of our experiments have reached success levels high enough to garner a living subject. Until we manage to get living replications of kekkei genkai abilities, you can just help out on other research projects."

They reached another door, which Kainu opened this time. Inside there were already many people at work on computers, and there were two spots open. "By the way Kainu, your number is 32, remember it."

* * *

Years went by, and Kainu became something of a celebrity. He developed the scroll format that would allow the altered bones to grow out of the scroll as the chakra flow directed, while all back flowing chakra occurred behind the scroll, where the bone didn't reach. That trick had established him as a true member of this "team" as well as gaining him an immense amount of respect from Jink. He put his influence into other projects as well, and all was going well in this line of life. 

The true breakthrough was when he was informed of the faux truce that was being planned with Konoha. Using his influence within the department, Kainu was able to get a meeting with the main project leader, referred to simply as boss, the same man he had met on his first day. "Sir, I think now is an excellent time to take one of Konoha's most valuable bloodlines for our own uses."

The dwarfish man tilted his head. "Go on."

Kainu nodded. "The byakugan, the potent doujutsu of the Hyuga clan would make a magnanimous and powerful addition to our ranks."

The boss turned away and then back to Kainu. "I imagine you are referring to your salary?"

"Sir?" Kainu feigned ignorance as best he could.

"Don't be stupid with me Kainu. You have assisted directly with fourteen projects. And all you have claimed from them are a single Shikotsumyaku scroll, directional chakra flow cloth for gloves, and a leech squid mother, all of which you keep on your person at all times. You have successfully developed the brainwashing program that allows us to raise emotionless, loyal killing machines, but you didn't request anything else. It's all been for this hasn't it? For the Hyuga."

"Is there any use in lying to you sir?" Kainu was being very casual about the situation now.

"No. Don't worry Kainu when I heard about this event and how it coincided with your wanting an audience, I already had preparations in place. The ninja being sent as the head is one of our finest, and will be bringing back everything we need to recreate the Hyuga clan right here. Using the very Conceal in Flesh Jutsu you helped to develop. How is the testing for transporting full people with that technique going?"

"Excellent, minus a few body parts and subsequent necrosis in the subjects. Not that there is any shortage in subjects."

"Excellent. You will have your Hyuga within two weeks."

"Sir, if I am not overstepping my bounds, I would like to make one additional request. I would like to be made the parent of the first child born through our methods. Biologically, sir."

"Why?"

"I find that somehow I think my existence will have more meaning if my DNA will be preserved in a child."

"I see. Of course the child will have to be brain programmed from birth."

"Of course, but as he will be my personal guard I will perform his psychological programming first hand and tune it towards myself."

"Fine then. I will consider your salary fully paid for some time after this. Now get out of my office."

* * *

Of course the head ninja was killed in his attempt to kidnap the young heiress, Hinata Hyuga. But when his body was delivered to Kumo on the false pretenses of a family burial, they were able to extract the vials. When Kainu saw the contents he was actually genuinely impressed. "You will require some work, but you will be my child yet." 

He worked right with the team that was trying to copy and combine the DNA in order to generate a mature egg. Once they had it, he made his contribution and watched first hand through a microscope as his sperm fused with the egg. The next 9 moths were an excruciating exercise of patience. He had nothing to do with the surrogate mother until the day the child was to be born, via a caesarian section. Once he had the child he was gone, off to deliver it to their special nursery.

A week went by, and the child survived, but the proudest moment had been earlier then that. When doctors examined his eyes, they were large, white, and had no pupils visible. One doctor finally came to Kainu, asking "The mother requests that his name be Nonki. But under these circumstances we thought best to ask you."

Kainu laughed. "That woman was just biological feeding tube; she has no motherly bond to this child and should be shown no illusion of any. I am this boy's father. He is my one son and as such his name will be Issun."

The doctor cringed after hearing his callousness, but made the notes on her chart. "As the first subject has been a success, we are ready to begin mass production of Byakugan enhanced soldiers. As a further benefit, we have brought into employ several men from the village who have seen members of the Hyugan clan fighting, and as such we are prepared to reconstruct a portion of their combat style, as well as fill in any gaps."

"Do what you want to. Just remember, he is mine. My son." Somewhere deep in his long since cold core Kainu felt a pride that had never been there in any of his previous accomplishments. He held that pride when looking at his son, and felt it melt away into nothing. _'My son who must be mentally broken into an autonomous unit under my control. What have I done?'_ Humanity was unacceptable. He pushed those thoughts down and away, destroying them. How long had he been doing this work? And now simply because one of his subjects had his DNA his conviction had nearly shattered. _'You will be my son, yes. But my guardian first. You will be completely loyal to me. Obedient. And it will be a lasting obedience.'_

The children were educated by age group, his son was unique in that it had been born out of the normal birthing schedule, and as such was alone for his age group. Kainu decided that to work off some of the debt by not requiring an additional teacher, he would be the boy's personal tutor. After the two month point, the boy was placed under Kainu for hours everyday, always observed. Kainu would teach the young boy through pavlovian response conditioning. Even at such a young age, the child would slowly learn which actions would result in unfavorable outcomes. In addition, Kainu spoke with the child endlessly, using a simple vocabulary. This would continue for some time.

* * *

Issun was now five years old, capable of speech, walking, and most importantly understanding. "Hello father. What do I learn today?" 

"It is time for you to learn how to fight." And so Kainu taught him everything they had reconstructed from the Juken style. Issun surprised them. He took so naturally to the combat, so easily to the chakra manipulations.

His training, his tutoring, and most importantly metal programming continued for years. For his mental programming he was installed with several commands, which would force his body to react a certain way. One would put him to sleep automatically, another would send him into a trance that would block out everything else and could only be ended with an additional command word.

* * *

He was ten years old when it happened. Kainu had been going through the halls toward his son's learning session, when he was stopped by the sight of who was coming down the hall toward him. It was the newest Raikage, escorted by no fewer then six ANBU. The Raikage stopped, and turned. An ANBU opened the door he was facing. Kainu knew it led to the boss's office. 

The newest elected Raikage had been chosen following the great ninja wars in an attempt to recover Kumo and attempt for peace with the other villages. He had already made several changes to the village. He had enforced higher codes of ethic in the prisons, enacted laws that protected and would seek to return home prisoners of war, and had chosen new people for all of the highest council and ANBU command positions. In all honesty, they had known that once he found out about this operation, there would be trouble.

He stood and waited. There were sounds of battle. And then the Raikage emerged wielding a bloody sword. "You there!" Kainu was taken aback. "This operation is being shut down. You just saw what resistance will award you. Don't make his mistake and try to work behind my back. You will inform your teams that they are to end all experiments immediately. Any women who have been impregnated with manufactured children will receive abortions. All children that are currently being raised in this facility will be…terminated. These lives were never meant to be and their death is the only atonement for their creation and mistreatment in this place. You have two minutes to send out these messages before we do it ourselves."

Kainu dived past the Raikage and into the boss's room. He shoved the corpse off of the desks and grabbed the nearest keyboard. It was simple enough to send messages to all other terminals on the network at once. An immediate cease and destroy order from this terminal would never be ignored. After it was done he turned and faced the Raikage. "Raikage-sama, I would like to go and see to my team's compliance personally."

The Raikage nodded. Kainu rushed away. He knew there was an ANBU shadowing him. Once he reached his teams work station he repeated the order, and requested that Issun be moved out of containment for disposal. While his team was following his orders he turned and faced the ANBU. He drew his scroll, and the ANBU moved forward for a kill. The bones rushed forward and impaled the ANBU in many places, dropping him to the ground dead as the bones splintered away from the scroll.

With the surveillance gone he turned back to his team. "Bring my son out here. At least one piece of our hard work will survive." The team nodded, and hit the keys that would open the door to the containment area.

Kainu rushed in. "ISSUN! Come now we are leaving. We are going to the outside world. And we may have to fight on the way." Issun's face remained plain, he had been trained well to never disobey, and never show emotion. "Use your power; tell me how we can get out of this place."

Issun brought his hands together. "BYAKUGAN!"

* * *

They moved fast after that, each of the other team members taking a different route through this honeycomb of tunnels underneath the hospital. It was obvious, when seen through Issun's eyes. This was not a simple shut down. The hospital above was being searched by ANBU, preventing the use of any of the normal elevators. Issun's eyes had found an additional escape route that would place them outside the hospital, in a place where there were no patrols. 

Then they were gone. Kumogakure would be forever behind them. As far as they knew they were the only ones who had escaped the purge.

Only time would tell where they would go.

* * *

Hinata fell to the ground on her side, limp. Above her Kainu grabbed the scroll from out of his mouth and aimed it at Sakura. 

"HINATA!!!!" Naruto screamed in anger and anguish. His body burned. The cage that had held him so tightly shattered, much to Kainu's surprise. He turned to look at the now standing young man, whose whole body was flooded in orange chakra. His eyes were red, his teeth were long, and his face was dark. "YOU BASTARD!!!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!!!"

* * *

A/N: UH OH. 

A/N Special edition: I thought I'd explain the names I choose for fun.

Kainu (Kainushi): Kainushi is a term for someone who owns a dog. Reference to his relationship with his son, as well as he took the name on purpose due to his ability to manipulate the minds of others as if they were lesser beasts.

Issun: Means "One Sun". Reference to him being Kainu's only son, as well as how Hinata means "Toward the Sun", linking the names by a common theme.

Jink (Jinkou): Jinkou means artificial.


	35. Humanity

A/N: A conclusion to this battle is finally here. AND I STILL MANAGE TO THROW IN A CLIFFIE.

Review:

Useful: I here you about slowing it down a bit, I don't think I'll do another flashback chapter like that one.

Dragon-rasengan: Wish granted.

Paul: I don't really like the pokemon games, but this chapter should demand a bit more of your attention.

* * *

Chapter 35: Humanity.

'_**Go ahead, use it all.'**_

Naruto's body surged with chakra. Behind him three chakra tails had already formed. He hunched down to all fours and growled while more chakra began to pour out from inside of him.

Kainu was shocked by this turn of events, but he remembered who he was dealing with and cursed his own foolishness. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a vial with a small egg near the bottom. He pulled out the cork and tossed the open vial at Naruto, who made no attempt to dodge. The vial and its contents made it to about 2 feet away from Naruto when the vial exploded and an enormous squid creature grew out of it. Moments later the squid turned a sickly grey color and shriveled down to a small lump. _'So his chakra is poisonous. I should avoid contact, these gloves should protect me.'_

Naruto was now flanked by a fourth tail, and with his transformation complete, he rushed forward. As the distance was not great, it took him no time to reach Kainu and launch a punch. Kainu blocked the attack by grabbing Naruto's fist. The glove dissolved after contact with the chakra shield, and once Kainu's hand hit it he tried to pull back, but it was Naruto holding him. His hand burned from the contact. He used his free hand to reach into another pocket and pull out a syringe.

He stabbed Naruto in the side with it and filled him with its contents. Naruto still held on. _'That was enough tranquilizers to knock out a hippo. Damn it all, I'll kill him if I have to.'_ He pulled out another syringe and tried to stab it into Naruto as well, but Naruto caught his arm, burning where he held.

Naruto angled his arms and pressure downward, forcing Kainu to his knees. He stared coldly at this man, and even that enraged him more. A bulge was forming in the back of his chakra shell. He dropped one of Kainu's hands and lifted his arm up, forming his shield into a claw around his own hand.

Issun stirred, remembering what had happened. His father had enacted a forced 1 minute sleep through the command word, which was only to be used when he was misbehaving massively, which had never before happened. Issun shot up and looked at the scene. The demonic Naruto was about to lower his claw and destroy Kainu. "FATHER!!" Issun shot to his feet and launched an empty palm into Naruto's raised arm.

Deflected, Naruto turned to face the other opponent. He dropped Kainu, who sat and cradled his arm and hand. "You. You hurt her first!" Naruto reached out his arm and the chakra claw extended out. Issun could see it coming and moved to the side enough to avoid it. Even being close to it he could feel the chakra from it. He shot another empty palm, this time aiming for a chakra point. Naruto almost completely ignored the impact, moving back only a few feet. Issun's byakugan showed him that Naruto's chakra shell absorbed the chakra of his attack, blocking harm to the chakra point and diffusing the pressure.

Naruto moved, so fast Issun couldn't even see the transition from his two positions. Naruto was now behind Issun, and reading to swipe him with his chakra claw. Issun poured out chakra and threw himself into a spin. Naruto was lifted off his feet and pushed away slightly, but he punched through the Hakkesho Kaiten and placed his claw near Issun's body. Spinning as he was, Issun could only barely move away, and it wasn't enough. He had a long gash that had torn at both his arms and across his back. The wound was burning even now, and Issun felt a horrible sickness in his body. He fell to his knees and hands, breathing heavily.

Naruto once more turned to Kainu, who in the meanwhile had taken to his feet. As soon as he caught Naruto's eyes again he launched several objects from his hands. Naruto knocked most of them away in midair, but a few embedded in his arms and chest. They were specialized darts meant to fill him with more tranquilizers. Kainu could see that he was wobbling now; there was enough of the chemical in that many darts to stop his heart. Kainu knew he had to run, to get out of the village. No doubt by now someone must have found out about this incident. He turned and me for the door, when he remembered Issun. "Issun, on your feet we have to leave NOW!"

Issun was barely holding himself on all fours, and his voice was quiet. "I cannot move father."

Kainu saw the boy's condition. He rushed past the drowsy Naruto whose attempts to stop him were pathetic and slow. He reached his son and picked him up. From this position he could see Naruto's back, where already a fifth tail was beginning to sprout. He made to rush past Naruto again, but felt something on his ankle. The other kunoichi was holding his leg, and slowly crawling to her feet. He spun and tried to kick her, but she caught his leg in her other hand and threw I away with a small amount of chakra.

Sakura stood up and saw what was happening to Naruto. _'I have to end this now. If he goes any further he'll destroy the whole hospital.'_ She threw punches at Kainu, who backed away from each, still holding Issun to him. Sakura was now between him and the exit, and his hands were full preventing him from using any of his tools.

Kainu was in a corner. He roughly flung Issun's light body over his shoulder and prepared to reach into a pocket, but Sakura moved forward and grabbed his now free hand. She threw another towards his chest aiming for his heart, and away from any of the slight bulges in his jacket so she wouldn't hit any of his squid things. The impact was heavy, bone breaking, but not fatal, she was to low on chakra for anything that would kill instantly.

Kainu was forced to gasp for air, and then cringe as his breathing was met with spiked pain in his chest. He wrenched his hand away from Sakura's and then grabbed her head with it. He shoved her away from him sideways and in her injured state she fell to the ground. He began to run to the door, holding his hand to his chest in a futile attempt to stop the pain. It occurred to him that his path to the door was clear, and that a new sound was audible in this room. Right before he left, he turned back to see where Naruto had gone.

* * *

Yamato was awake, but still tired. He sat up in his hospital bed and looked around. Jiraiya and Kakashi were also in the room, but they were still asleep. Acting more on a desire to move then a desire to recover, he threw his legs over the side of his bed and started walking. Besides being a little wobbly and groggy, he felt fine. While readjusting himself he heard running in the hallway. He opened the door just in time to see the Hokage go running past.

She saw him and stopped herself, sliding a bit on the tile floor. "Yamato! Can you walk?! Never mind just come with me NOW!"

Yamato was taken aback, but didn't question as she quickly turned and ran away. From where she had come several ANBU came into view and went running after the Hokage. Yamato joined in with them, following them and not asking questions.

Down several halls they finally came to the morgue, in which there was already a battle being waged. He heard a familiar voice explaining the situation. "These clones are invulnerable and regenerative. They have limitless supplies of chakra, but don't show any ability in using particular jutsu. We have to beat their creator; he'll be where ever you would keep the belongings of dead people. Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata have already gone to fight him but they have been gone for some time. GO!"

Four of the ANBU took over occupying the clones, while one of them brought out whoever had been fighting them. When Yamato saw the person, he couldn't help but respond. "SASUKE?!"

Sasuke and several of the ANBU turned to face Yamato. One of the nearby black ops spoke. "He has rejoined Konoha while you were away."

Yamato was in disbelief for a moment, but let it slide, they didn't have any time. He joined in the run of those who were going after the real perpetrators, while Sasuke was being allowed to rest after his endurance trial.

* * *

Naruto was on his knees. In his lap and held up by his arms was Hinata. Despite being surrounded by his orange chakra Hinata was not being burned. Amazingly she was still conscious, her eyes just barely open but clearly looking at Naruto's, which stared back equally as intensely. Naruto moved one of his hands and arms so that it wouldn't be needed to support her. With it he just barely touched the bloodstained bone that had impaled her through her abdomen. He then brought his hand up and brushed the hair out of her face. Somewhere, Hinata found some strength. She lifted her arm and gently touched Naruto's face.

Her hand began to drop but Naruto reached up his and grabbed it. She coughed and blood came with it. Naruto place her arm down on her chest and reached up to wipe the blood off her face. It smeared across the bottom of her cheek and Naruto's thumb. She smiled, just a bit. And her eyes closed, and she went completely limp.

Naruto held her just a little longer. He slowly slid her body off his legs and placed it gently on the ground.

Kainu took a step back, after having watched the entire scene. His footstep resonated in Naruto's ears, and he turned to look at Kainu with renewed hatred. Kainu made to run. He moved back the way he had came, but in a hallway lined with windows he was forced to stop. In front of him was none other then the Hokage her self surrounded by a cadre of ANBU. He paused, trying desperately to concoct a plan. His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden presence of Naruto behind him. He turned to look at the blonde ninja, but saw something wholly different.

It was large, and moved on all fours. Its body was made of a dark orange chakra that pulsed. Whipping and swaying back and forth were five tails. It stared at Kainu with blank eyes.

He never even saw the attack coming. Without warning there was an enormous claw dug into his torso. The shock of it caused him to drop Issun to the ground. After that, the claw whipped upwards slamming him into the ceiling. It retracted as fast as hit had embedded itself, dropping Kainu flat onto the floor. Kainu, only barely able to move lifted himself up and stared into the monster. Perhaps it was this different angle, or perhaps something had changed in the beast's mentality, but from here he could finally read the monster's eyes. They screamed sadness.

Amidst the silence that had befallen, Kainu heard the tweeting of a bird right out side the window. For whatever reason the beast was allowing him to live for the moment, he could not waste the opportunity. He mustered every last strength in his body and threw himself through the window, grabbing the bird in its attempts to fly away from the sudden mayhem. The beast also dove through the window after him. They had been on the first floor of the hospital, so once Kainu landed he rolled away, narrowly dodging the landing monster.

Despite its struggling the bird could not get away. He brought it up to his face and bit onto its leg, ignoring the pain as the little pigeon clawed at his face. With his hands free he formed hand seals, and touched the bird. With a strange squelching noise and a disgusting display that even held the beast's attention Kainu's body seemed to fold into itself and mold and morph into a smaller and less recognizable mound of flesh. It became apparent that this new mound of flesh was mixing with the bird. The beast began to lash out at the tiny creature, but, scared as it was; the bird flew away and evaded the attacks. It flew away.

Yamato shoved his way through the ANBU and to the window that had been broken. "Hokage-Style Sixty-year-old Jutsu: Kakuan Nitten Suishu!!" Wooden pillars erupted around Naruto's monstrous form. Yamato leapt through the window and touched his hand to the beast, forcing the chakra to recede. Naruto was restored, but fell unconscious to the ground.

Tsunade couldn't believe what she was seeing. A noise caught her attention. She turned and saw Sakura walking weakly along the corridor. "Sakura!"

Sakura raised her head. "Tsunade-sensei, please, hurry, you've got to help, Hinata is…" Sakura collapsed.

Tsunade ordered assistance for Sakura, and personally ran to where Hinata lay. It was bad.

* * *

Hours later, a small bird flew to its nest in a tree on the outskirts of the village. It landed for a few minutes, and then fell off the tree, seemingly dead. The bird was beginning to bulge and convulse. A fleshy mass began to grow out of its belly. Then another mass began growing out of its back. And then another from its head. Before long the entire bird was morphing and distorting and growing in a sickening display. Minutes later the transformation was complete. Kainu was on the ground, his right arm warped and limp by his side. He could not walk on his legs. He could barely breathe.

A strange plant appeared before Kainu. It grew and opened revealing a young man within it, a man with one half of his body white and the other black. "Did you succeed?"

Kainu managed, somehow, to pull out to small rings from a pocket on his coat. Zetsu took them, and looked back down at the pathetic creature. "We won't even have to kill you." **"But we probably should, just to make sure."**

Zetsu advanced menacingly on the mutated Kainu. A thought occurred in his still working mind. "For…Forgive me…Issun…"

* * *

A/N: … 


	36. Free

A/N: This is a very dramatic chapter. And it doesn't have a cliffie.

Reviews:

Dragon: No such luck, this fanfiction is actually a slight crossover. It turns out Zetsu had Ed's (from Ed, Edd, and Eddy) stomache, making him completely immune to everything. lol, but seriously Zetsu won't be adversly affected.

Jeanie: of course, but about Issun...

Avatar: Yeah the five tail form is pretty amazing, it will be mentioned in this chappie but will gain more prom

* * *

inence later on.

Chapter 36: Free

Naruto woke up in familiar surroundings. His tired mind tried to sot things out. "HINATA!"

"Whoa there Naruto." Kakashi had moved quickly to hold Naruto down to the bed and prevent him jumping out of it. He did this with one authoritative hand on Naruto's wrist.

"AH! Kakashi?! Yamato?! Ero-Sennin?!" He shouted their names as he turned to face each of them.

Jiraiya was a little ticked. "That's Jiraiya-sensei."

Yamato smirked. "Well Naruto we all have some questions for you. We were hoping-"

Naruto interrupted him. "I don't care about your questions." He was staring down at his hands, clenched into fists.

Kakashi released his wrist. "Sakura told us about you and Hinata. I thought you should know she's still alive."

Naruto shot up. "REALLY?! WHERE?! LET ME GO ARGH!!!!" All three of them had to join in holding Naruto down this time. They finally managed to pin him to the bed and restrain him. He struggled against the confinement.

"Naruto calm down. You can't see her yet, she's still being treated. Her wounds were extensive enough to need the use of the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Jutsu, which is still being performed. Were you to rush into the room and start screaming as you are very prone to do, the jutsu would fail and she would surely die." Kakashi's last words caught his attention, so he calmed down and stopped struggling. "Good. Now we do have some questions for you-"

"I'M THE ONE WITH QUESTIONS!!! WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU GUYS?!?! WHAT WAS YOUR MISSION?!?!? WHAT HAPPENED TO SAI?!?!?!" Naruto was struggling with the restraints again and was yelling at the top of his lungs.

The other three men sighed in unison. Jiraiya walked forward and gagged Naruto with a sock he had procured from somewhere. "That stays on until you are willing to listen. Naruto was of course struggling against the gag.

Yamato couldn't help but laugh a little at Naruto's position, then he had a thought. "Jiraiya, where did you get that sock?"

Jiraiya smiled and lifted up his leg to his chest, balancing on the other. He pointed to his foot. "Where else?"

There was a pause. It was followed by Naruto making many more noises through his gag and lunging even more then before.

Kakashi turned to face the perverted hermit. "I wasn't aware that you wore socks."

Jiraiya stopped his hopping and put his foot back on the ground. "Well I wouldn't normally but knowing that we were coming to speak with Naruto I thought it would be a good idea to have something handy like a sock for just such a situation. Especially one that I had been wearing and walked all over the hospital in." There was another loud stream of groans from Naruto. "Hehehe. Okay Naruto are you ready to listen and answer our questions instead of just running your mouth off?"

Naruto nodded and Jiraiya reached forward and removed the sock from Naruto's face. He remained grudgingly quiet in the presence of his mentors. It was Yamato who began. "Naruto, we want to hear from you what has happened in our absence. You have a lot of explaining to do. First of all I was surprised to see Sasuke here and can only imagine that it was partly you that brought about that miracle. Further more when I saw you and managed to reseal the demons chakra, you had five tails not four. The doctor's estimated that the only reason you didn't turn this entire city district into a crater is because you were bogged down by enough tranquilizer to kill a herd of bulls. Now start talking."

Naruto inhaled. "Well, Sasuke actually showed up here after running away from Orochimaru who I beat off and it was Sakura who treated his wounds and fixed his body so that he's now on some permanent hyper mode but while I was beating up Orochimaru I used the RasenShuriken but it really hurt my arm and they had to remove it and then during the night the kyuubi starts talking with me and flooding me with chakra and my arm grew back and the seal got even weaker then before so if I control it right I can get four tails and stay in control and turn it off if I start to lose the control but I've never gone up to five and I blacked out after Hinata went down so It must be the same thing as when I used to go to four tails."

The three men just looked at him, while a wind blew by the window. "Naruto, we expected more then one sentence."

* * *

"Sakura, are you sure?"

"You didn't want to pick so you asked me and now you get picky? It looks fine. Now come on we have to go pick up flowers for Naruto." Sakura walked out of the house. "Sasuke get out here NOW!"

Sasuke walked out and onto the thin residential street. He began to follow Sakura through town taking count of the number of people he knew who stole glances at his new wardrobe. They reached the flower shop and Sakura went in alone. She came out with Ino accompanying her, who decided to tell Sasuke, "Wow Sasuke nice outfit."

They took the flowers to the hospital. Sakura didn't need to ask about where the rooms were, so they just walked past the reception desk. Sakura went first to check on Hinata's condition, which Sasuke was unable to do along with her due to the fragility of the jutsu. When she returned she looked relieved, so Sasuke assumed the best. After that they went to Naruto's room.

Their presence broke a silence that had befallen the room. "Sakura! Sasuke!"

Sakura said hello but Sasuke just nodded. He placed the flowers where Sakura told him to. He noticed that the three "adults" were eyeing him questioningly, but he ignored it for now.

Sakura handed the flowers she was carrying to Naruto. He asked her what the others were for. "Those are for Hinata, but I thought it should be you who gives them to her." Naruto made a sad face. "Don't worry Naruto I checked before coming here. She's gonna be fine. They've also been instructed to notify me as soon as the regeneration jutsu is done, and that means you'll know as soon as it's safe to go over and jump and scream like we all know you want to." Not even Naruto could argue, he was just happy knowing she would be alright. But Sakura wasn't done yet. "Naruto, there's something else you should know. That boy, Issun, he survived and we have him here, but he won't live for much longer."

Naruto looked back at her intensely. "When you slashed him, you must have been channeling a massive amount of that demon chakra. The wound is infected with something we've never seen before. There are no medications for it, and we couldn't remove the infected flesh because as soon as we did it regenerated and continued to spread. I can't imagine that Kainu made it far after what you did to him. Scouts have been searching for him. Issun will be dead before midnight."

A heavy atmosphere descended on the room. Sasuke thought it had gone on long enough, and he believed he had more important matters to attend to. "Kakashi. How did you obtain the Mangekyo Sharingan?"

Kakashi didn't turn to face Sasuke, though every one else did. "Sasuke, now is not the time for this." Sasuke stood up from the wall and clenched his fist. "Don't worry. I'll tell you exactly how I ended up with that eye, but only when ordered to by the Hokage herself. Wait till then. It won't be much longer." Sasuke was not pleased with this answer.

Not actually meaning to lighten the mood bud doing so anyway Naruto made an observation. "Sasuke did you change your clothes?"

Sakura knew Sasuke wasn't going to respond. "Yeah, he asked me to help him out." Sasuke's loose open shirt had been replaced with a tighter, low collared shirt which effectively showed the same amount of skin. The sleeves were still long, but they we're tucked into his gauntlets producing a slight billow. He had also abandoned the purple spiral sash that was worn by so many sound-nin. In its place was a black sash, and his pants didn't have to be folded back quite so far anymore. The final noticeable change was that he had a new Konoha headband, which he wore, tied around his upper right arm. The plate was curved more to fit here better, but the leaf was as visible as always.

Silence followed after that. After a long time of this in which Sakura could feel Sasuke's agitation growing, she was thankful to see a nurse come in. "Sakura, Miss Hyuga has been moved to a regular room, room 204."

Sakura nodded and was about to thank her when Naruto loudly blurted out, "UNTIE ME I GOTTA GO!!"

Kakashi released the straps holding Naruto down and stood up. "We need to report to Hokage-sama. We'll see you all later."

Sakura grabbed Sasuke's arm to hold him back. "We'd love to see Hinata but we've got some other stuff to take care of. Give Hinata my regards. And don't forget the flowers. See you, Naruto."

Everyone left the room while Naruto was getting up from the bed. He grabbed the flowers and bolted down the halls running as fast as he could. He reached the room and shoved the door aside. There was a nurse inside. "Sakura told me you'd show up. Listen, Naruto was it? Ok, Miss Hyuga is stable and will recover, but she's asleep now and that is the best thing for her at the moment. Let her rest please." Naruto nodded and sat down quietly by the bed, watching the slow gentle movements of her chest that were proof she was still breathing.

As he sat and waited for her to wake up, someone else came into the hospital room. A tall man with dark hair and white eyes.

* * *

Hinata opened her eyes. They hurt. She tried to move her arm but it to hurt. She had a wild sense of Déjà vu, which was complete when she saw Naruto leaning over her. "Naruto-kun?"

"Hinata!" He looked, and for that matter was, incredibly relieved.

She started to sit up, and could feel Naruto's hand on her back supporting her. It came to her attention that Naruto was not the only other person in the room. To her left, standing tall and with his hands on a cane, was Hiashi Hyuga. Her father. Hinata froze in terror.

"Hinata Hyuga." His voice was stern. "As the head of the Hyuga family, I hereby renounce your status as heir, in favor of your sister." Hinata felt as if someone had slapped her in the face. "As such, you are no longer required to live on the clan grounds if you so choose. You may go where you wish, and marry whom you wish. It is of no further concern to me." This statement caught Hinata completely by surprise. It occurred to h that while saying the last part, he had not been looking at her, but at Naruto. "That is all." Hiashi turned and began to walk away.

Naruto was enraged. "Why y-" Hinata had placed her hand over Naruto's mouth, causing him to silence immediately.

Hinata turned back to her father who had stopped at the noise. "Thank you, father." Hiashi made no sign of recognition, he just walked away. Hinata let go of Naruto face and looked up at him affectionately. He stared back completely confused. "I think that my father just gave us his blessing for marriage." As soon as she said it she regretted it, and broke into an uncontrollable blush. When she finally worked up the courage to look at Naruto again, he was sitting in a chair looking straight down with a face even redder then hers.

* * *

"Sakura, we don't have anything planned."

Sakura turned and looked right at Sasuke. "I know; I just didn't want you trying to pester Kakashi. I actually do have something I need to do, but I'm doing it alone, so you can go wherever you want." She leapt away from him and sped off.

She was now standing in the home of Kurenai Yuki. "I must say Sakura I was surprised you wanted to talk with me so suddenly like this."

Kurenai had grown a bit in her pregnancy, and had been having some trouble managing her budget after being removed from the active duty roster. "It's not much Kurenai-sensei. I'm glad to see that the baby is coming along nicely."

Kurenai smiled softly. "Yes, the last piece of him I have left. But I hope that's not what you came here to talk to me about. OH!! Sakura are you…?!"

"NO! NO. No. It's nothing like that." Kurenai was visibly relieved. "Kurenai-sensei, during this last fight I couldn't do anything. For most of the battle I was pinned down in one way or another, and even when I stood up nothing I did mattered in the end. Naruto, Sasuke, even Hinata. They all fought so hard to defeat those guys, and I couldn't… I NEED YOU TO TEACH ME!!"

Kurenai was confused and shocked. "What?"

Sakura looked the Jonin right in the eyes. "Kakashi told me once when I was younger, that to make the best use of my abilities, I should try to specialize in genjutsu, but after Tsunade-sensei arrived and Naruto left with Jiraiya-sama, I thought I could keep up with him by training under a sannin too. She taught me new taijutsu and ninjutsu, but she is inept at genjutsu, so we never trained it. That's why, Kurenai-sensei, I want you teach me how to use genjutsu. I'll pay for the lessons and-and-and…"

"Sakura I-"

"Please Kurenai-sensei! I'll pay whatever price you need!"

"Of course I'll help you but I couldn't accept-"

"You will?!"

"Yes of course. But I can't take your-"

"Yes you can. I know that you've been having trouble getting by. I've saved up a lot from missions and my internship at the hospital. You'll take the money if I have to force it on you." Sakura was very adamant.

Kurenai sighed. She was short on cash. "Alright Sakura, you can pay me, but I won't settle for you paying me anything to high."

Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded. "Thank you, Kurenai-sensei. When's the first lesson?"

* * *

"Are you sure about this Hina-chan?"

"He must have had a horrible life. And I know it's not my fault but I still can't help but feel guilty. I want to speak with him once." Hinata pushed the door open and walked through.

Inside there was a single bed with a single occupant. He was strapped down so he could not move, and an IV of pain medication was in his arm. He did not initially respond to the movement, but when Hinata came into view he made attempts to move.

Hinata began to back away and she bumped into Naruto. She moved forward again, and was looking Issun right in the face. "Issun." He froze when his name was said. "Issun, I'm sorry." She didn't really know where to go with this. "I'm sorry that you had to be born the way you were born, and raised by that awful man-"

"Don't you dare insult father." It was hardly a voice at all.

"How can you be so loyal to him, even now?" Hinata couldn't but tear up.

"I must ob-"

"NO! You're wrong. You don't always have to do what someone else tells you to do. Sometimes, parents can make bad choices for their children, even doing what they think is best. But they can be wrong. Didn't you ever question him at all?"

Issun was silent. "Mother, can I tell you the truth?" Hinata nodded. "I hated father. I hated his choices. I hated the punishments. But, from when I was younger, the thought of disobeying him, of disappointing him, just the thought was unbearable. Where is he now?"

It was getting harder for Hinata to not cry. "He's gone. We think he may already be dead, but we haven't found a body."

"Then it is up to you. I must be told what to do with my life, by a parent. Please tell me what I should do."

Hinata finally let the tears fall. "Issun, you should be free, to do what ever you want with your life. You should be happy and free."

Issun turned his head to look at her. "Free? Nonki?(Nonki means free) That was the name they said my birth mother wanted for me."

"She must have wanted you to be free as well."

"But when she was selected to carry me, she knew the life I would have. I was to be a weapon for the use of Kainu from my birth until my death."

"I think, parents will make mistakes, but that later they will repent and try to make things right." Naruto was reminded of Hiashi. Hinata continued, "I'm sorry Issun, that your father never made things right with you." She reached out and held his hand. "But, I want to try, now, to make things right. Even if it's only for these last few hours, I want you to be free."

Hinata leaned forward and hugged Issun. It was an awkward embrace, she could not get her arms around him as he was too tightly strapped down, and he could not return in any way. She slowly released him and backed away. Issun understood. Somehow, he understood. "I remember. It was night a long time ago. He thought I was asleep. He stood over me, and he was crying. He said he was sorry. He crawled away and he never told me what it was about. Why?"

"I don't know, he must have been sorry at some level."

"I'd like to see him again so I could ask. Is that allowable mother?"

Hinata was choking up, but she still managed to speak. "You can do whatever you want. Nonki."

A thin and long beeping noise filled the room, and Naruto held Hinata to support her.

* * *

A/N: Heavy... 


	37. Prelude

A/N: A really short chappie here. Just a quick romantic moment between Naruto and Hinata, then the setup for the following chapters.

Reviews:

Rasengan-Dragon: I know she uses that transformation technique, but that's the only genjutsu I've ever seen her use. Sakura is plenty skilled at the "make me pretty" type genjutsu, she's looking to invest more in the "make an illusionary tree and let me hover above you so I can pound your skull in while you sit there helplessly" style genjutsu.

Useful: Yeah 36 and 37 have been a little awkward for me to write, I'll be back into my element by the next chapter though.

Avatar: I actually like that theory, but I have my own, and it will be based on another theory making it a two level theory. That's pretty damn theoretical.

* * *

Chapter 37: Prelude

Naruto wasn't with Hinata today. This was actually somewhat remarkable as the two had been almost inseparable since they had begun cohabitating. Naruto had made a big point of doing something by himself for once and telling her that he would be back home around seven. Once he was certain she wasn't following him, he escaped to a random roof top and sat down to think.

It had been bothering him after what she had said to him in the hospital. It was really only the one word that bothered him. It rattled around in his head and made him have a strong and strange feeling in his chest and gut. "Marriage?"

"What about Marriage?" Naruto fell over and nearly rolled off the slanted roof, but caught himself.

Standing up at the top of the roof and looking professionally un-amused was Sasuke. Naruto ran back up the roof and got in his face. "Sasuke are you trying to kill me!"

That actually got a smirk from Sasuke. "Not anymore. But if you're in such deep thought you can't tell when someone lands next to you, you shouldn't speak out loud."

Naruto was knocked back by his response, so he sat back down on the roof. "Its just something Hinata mentioned to me. I got a little freaked out so I came here to think about it."

"Odd, normally the men propose."

Naruto shook his head wildly. "It's nothing like that the word just came up in our conversation and just thinking about it was a little weird."

Sasuke was gazing out over Konoha. "If she mentioned it, she probably wants to."

The prospect terrified Naruto. "Aren't we a little young? I'm only seventeen!"

Sasuke actually faced Naruto. "First off, you're sixteen and eight months, not quite there." Naruto got a little angry. "Second, we aren't young at all." Naruto looked up curiously at the standing Sasuke who had gone back to staring at the horizon. "We have seen things most people never see through in their whole lives. We have been at the center of a war, fought for our lives on several occasions, and been trained into the most powerful warriors in the world by the most powerful warriors in the world. What of us could still be considered children?"

Naruto thought about it. "Yeah." They stayed silent for a minute. "Has Sakura mentioned anything like that to you?"

"No, but it's not something she'd be likely to bring up."

"Why not?"

"We chose interesting women to spend our time with Naruto. These women are completely devoted to us. If we chose to right now we could go and be horrible people and they would still be infatuated beyond rational thought. It seems that as long as they can be near us, it doesn't matter what we do or even if we pay attention to them. All they require is the proximity. Sakura doesn't do anything that she is afraid might push me away, and so she doesn't really do much at all. I would think Hinata is very worried right now that her comment might have scared you away."

"Since when did you learn so much about women?"

"Sakura told me."

"Oh." Naruto stood up. "Thanks Sasuke." He jumped away.

* * *

Hinata was still sitting at home, at Naruto's apartment. She was just twiddling her fingers, wondering what Naruto was doing. _'Did I do something wrong? Is he mad at me? What's going on?' _She really couldn't understand why she was so worried. They woke up as normal. Got dressed as normal. Ate breakfast as normal. Then Naruto just stood up and said he was going out for the day for some stuff and that he would be back later. Hinata had said she would go with him, and he had responded hastily that it was ok and he'd rather do it by himself.

She heard the door open and her eyes shot upward. "Naruto-kun!"

Naruto smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Hoy, Hina-chan" He walked over to her and sat next to her on the couch. Once seated he turned to face her. "Hinata, I want to-well Its just-kinda-I-" He broke his own train of thought and hugged her.

Hinata was used to being affectionate with Naruto after so long, but his sudden embrace surprised her. She slowly reached her arms up and wrapped them tightly around Naruto. "Naruto-kun…"

"Hina-chan…" He pushed her away and held onto her shoulders. "I…I…Don't want to get married yet." Hinata blinked. "But…Maybe…When we're a little older ok?"

Hinata started tearing up. She lunged forward grabbing hold of Naruto's body and throwing him onto his back on the couch. "Naruto. I don't care about that. I just want to be with you always. I don't care how." She pushed herself into his chest as hard as she could.

His arms slowly wrapped around her. "Yeah. Me too." She tilted her head up, and he looked down. They kissed.

A knock sounded at the door, interrupting their intimate moment. Hinata got up and Naruto followed. He walked over and opened the door. Sakura was standing outside with Sasuke. "Naruto, Tsunade-sensei wants to see us."

He nodded and walked out the door followed by Hinata. "She called for the three of us. Not her."

Hinata stopped. Naruto didn't like hearing that. "I'm just going to tell her any way so Tsunade-obasan will just have to deal with her being there."

Sakura nodded in agreement and turned to Sasuke. "Whatever."

* * *

Tsunade saw Hinata enter with them and sighed. _'Oh well, I figured as much.'_ The room was a little packed, as there were a total of nine people in it now. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata had just entered, and Kakshi, Yamato, Jiraiya, Sai, Shizune, and of course Tsunade were all waiting for them.

Naruto was exited to see everyone. "Kakashi-sensei! Yamato-san! Ero-sennin! Sai! Sai when did you wake up?!"

Jiraiya was about to tell off Naruto for calling him Ero-sennin when Sai stopped him. "Not long ago."

Kakashi could feel Sasuke's eyes on him. "Hokage-sama, perhaps we'd best not waste time."

Tsunade nodded. "Right. What we discuss in this room doesn't leave this room, and while any of these four men are talking there are to be no interruptions. Naruto if you so much as think of opening your mouth a I will have Jiraiya take off his sock again." Naruto had been about to say something, but he backed off. "Now then. As you have probably already figured out, these four were sent on a top secret mission, appointed by me personally. Each of them was asked individually to accept it, and each did. The Mission was this." She paused. "Track down, and defeat, the Akatsuki."

There were reactions across the room, except from Sasuke who remained calm. Tsunade continued. "They left sometime shortly before Sasuke's arrival in Konoha, and went to work looking for any clues for where to find them. Eventually they came into contact with them, and short fight ensued. During the time when the team searched for the escaping opponents, they regrouped and fought back with reinforcements. During this battle, Sai was badly injured, forcing the team to retreat. They came back to Konoha for medical aid. This is all that we know at this time. Now then, the four of you. Tell us in detail what took place, and what you learned of Akatsuki."

* * *

Once Naruto was gone and down the mountain, Jiraiya turned to face his guests. "Tsunade has briefed me, and while I understand the wisdom in this, I also see the problems in it. You know he hates being kept out of the loop."

Of the three of them it was the one on the far left, Kakashi that answered, "It's for his own good, and it can't wait any longer. Not with all the recent developments. Besides, he'll hardly notice we're gone, he's got so much else occupying his mind."

Jiraiya nodded at this. "Alright then, let's go." They stood there, and then all four of them jumped away and began their journey away from the village.

* * *

A/N: Did I say short? I meant really short. But aren't you all excited to know what those four have been doing all this time? 


	38. Research

A/N: Sorry about the slow update, I'm getting more and more busy so they me be slowing down even more. I'll try to keep up a good clip though.

* * *

Chapter 38: Research.

They first came to a small town that served as a rest stop for travelers. Transformation Jutsu's kept their identities secret while they moved in pairs to different hotels to further hide their tracks. Kakashi with Jiraiya and Sai with Yamato.

Kakashi was meditating silently, though his focus was continuously interrupted by the giggles and urgings of Jiraiya. "Jiraiya-sama, is there any particular reason you chose this hotel and this room?" Jiraiya ignored him and continued to make his minor sounds of enjoyment while staring at something in his binoculars. "It wouldn't be because of the all women's hotel next door would it?"

Jiraiya was immediately in Kakashi's face, "How dare you accuse me of such underhanded tactics at perversion." Kakashi stared at him disappointedly. "What? It's true. Were "research" my only goal I would have simply transformed into a women and stayed in the women's hotel, especially the baths." Jiraiya's face turned red and he started to drool slightly.

Kakashi sighed, knowing that his sensei's sensei was being perfectly honest with that admission. "Then what other motives do you have?"

Jiraiya shook out of his daydream. "Talking with you of course." His face went serious. "How were you planning on tracking down any member of akatsuki?"

Kakashi also became more serious. "Well, first, you have studied them and tracked them for years haven't you? Don't you know anything about where they might be going now?"

Jiraiya grabbed his chin to think. "After they managed to take down the jinchuuriki of Kumogakure I lost any lead as to where they would strike next. The other tailed beasts were either unsealed or done so in a secretive manner, further more I was never able to find out exactly how many demons they already possessed, the only three I was sure of were the one tailed shukaku of the sand, the two tailed demon cat, and of course, the nine tailed demon fox. Speaking of which, Naruto's presence and training took priority in many situations, inhibiting my ability to track down information. What about you? You are the master tracker, can't you find them from even the smallest traces of their presence?"

"Yes. But, we have no idea where they've been recently either. In the most recent attacks, both of their members were successfully killed. While this is a good thing, it also means we have nothing to track back to any base of operations." Kakashi frowned beneath his mask and strained his mind to come up with a solution.

Jiraiya hummed again. Then his eyes went wide and he snapped his fingers. "Those last two, didn't they make a detour to attack a man who wasn't ajinchuuriki?"

Kakashi tilted his head up, and looked back at Jiraiya. "Yes, a man named Chiriku, and a former guard ninja of fire. They were collecting a bounty on his head. From what we learned at the bounty station Kakuzu was notorious for bringing in large bounty heads, and though he was joined in combat by Hidan, it seemed Hidan had none of the lust for the money that filled Kakuzu."

"Right." Jiraiya reached into his pack and pulled out a book. It was a bingo book, the listing for the various bounty rewards that had been put out by the countries. "Here he is, right next to Asuma Sarutobi. My question is, if Hidan did not appear to be enjoying the bounty hunting, why did he assist Kakuszu?"

Kakashi considered this. "Of course. They were ordered to take in the bounties. Which means…"

"That even if Kakuzu is out of the picture…"

"The organization will still need the bounty money."

Jiraiya nodded. "Now we just need to start tracking large bounty turn ins."

* * *

Yamato stood by the window staring out at the street and glancing back in periodically to check up on Sai. At one point he fully turned and addressed his traveling companion. "I was actually a little surprised to hear that you accepted this mission." Sai did not reply. "Why did you decide to come? I thought your mission was to assassinate Sasuke?"

Sai raised his head from the picture he had been drawing. "You know already that I abandoned that mission. And this one, I took for the same reasons."

Yamato nodded. "Naruto. He is an amazing young man. Well we leave early tomorrow, lets get rested up."

* * *

The four gathered on the outskirts of the town and dispelled their transformations. They were now wearing a specially designed generic ninja uniform, meant to hide their village of origin. Kakashi was the first to speak. "We believe at least one unit of akatsuki agents will be taking over Kakuzu's work with collecting bounties. Under that assumption, we are going to track down bounty offices and collect any information about the collectors on high bounties. Here are your destinations and here is the meeting place for midnight to night." He handed each of them a map and held the last for himself. "We move to a new territory tomorrow so be there on time to get rest. MOVE!"

The four spread out.

They found no traces of activity on that day. The next day they rose early and began heading southeast, through the more remote and lawless areas of the land of fire.

* * *

They came upon their first clue when a bounty station manager said this to Yamato. "Tough guys turning in high bounties? Well for that you need to be in place with some high bounties. Say now that I think about it I heard that I could scratch this guy out of the bingo book, and look at him, he was worth 50 million ryo. Somebody took him out right in the land of water, right under his own government's nose."

Yamato looked down at the photo, despite it having a large X through it. The name had been crossed out but it was fairly obvious who it was from two clues. The picture depicted him wielding a massive sword which was shaped like an enormous meet cleaver. The other clue was the picture right next to him. Kisame Hoshigaki. Yamato left and reported what he had heard. It didn't take long for them to decide to go straight to the land of water.

* * *

Once they arrived they began their pattern again, searching for clues as to what had turned in a bounty on one of the seven shinobi swordsman. The bounty managers were much more hostile in this country, forcing them to move in pairs to avoid potential danger. Then they hit another clue. This time Kakashi and Sai were clued in.

"That bounty was a little hot if you know what I mean. Hard to pay off from right here, and getting the body out of the country was a bitch. Imagine what kind of deep shit We'd be in if the Mizukage found out we were smuggling out the corpse of one of his precious few remaining shinobi swordmen. That's three renegade, and 1 murdered. That little organization isn't having to much luck eh? Hahahahaha." The balding fat man laughed horribly to himself, even wiping away a tear.

"Right, but who was it who turned in the bounty?" Kakashi said trough his mask.

The fat man stopped his laughter. "I heard you the first time, but ya gotta understand there is a certain amount of customer confidentiality in this particular business. I can't tell ya that, so yur outa luck."

Sai stepped forward and gripped the man's collar. "Tell us. Or we'll kill you and carry your carcass to another bounty station where they might be a little more loose lipped."

A sound of footsteps and weapons drew their attention to the new company which had entered the dark and dank room. Sai dropped the fat man and turned to the others. He pulled out his parchment and drew a long line on it. Several ink lions leapt from the paper and assaulted the would-be assaulters. Within moments they were all on the ground either badly beaten, badly slashed, or some combination of the two. Sai turned back to the fat man and tilted his head slightly.

The fat man was sweating and wide eyed. "Alright! They didn't give me names but one of them was a big guy with beady eyes and the other was medium sized and spoke with a deep voice. Their faces were concealed. I don't know anything more then that I swear!"

Kakashi nodded. "Right, that's all we'll need."

Once they were outside Sai spoke. "We know who the targets are, but how will we find them?"

Kakashi started walking. "It won't be too difficult, one of two things will happen. We will find someone who has seen them and be led to their location, or they will find out that people have been looking for them and will naturally come to us. Our separation into pairs and similar wardrobe should throw off descriptions, they will believe they are only facing two opponents, and when they come we will have a numerical advantage."

Sai nodded. Kakashi looked at the young man. "That was impressive intimidation technique back there, was that part of your training in root?"

Sai nodded again. Kakashi concluded there was no more interest in conversation, so he dropped it.

* * *

The four of them sat in Yamato's summoned hotel. It was Jiraiya who spoke. "So, it is Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki we must face. What a conincidence."

The other three nodded. Next to speak was Kakashi. "When it happens we will need some kind of a plan. I will be needed to counter Itachi's sharingan with my own. Samehada can tear through chakra fields, so techniques that don't rely on chakra channeling are best. Sai, Yamato, can you handle him?"

They both nodded. Yamato spoke up. "Then its you and Jiraiya against Itachi. Are we sure we can do this? Itachi beat you once before didn't he? And Kisame will be… tough."

"We don't have a choice, akatsuki needs to be taken down." Jiraiya effectively ended the conversation, and each of the ninja went to bed.

* * *

"Well Itachi? What are we going to do about it? One of them may even have a bounty, that is our goal isn't it?"

Itachi barely opened his eyes. "Our mission was quite specific, obtain the bounties on each of the seven shinobi swordsmen, one at a time. This can only complicate things. We should take out our pursuers. Immediately."

Kisame smiled, showing off his large filed teeth. "Right. Maybe it will be some people who can actually put up a fight."

Itachi mused aloud. "Two strangers in black clothing, faces hidden by masks. One taller then the other. Something doesn't match up."

Kisame squinted. "Eh?"

"Some of our contacts described one of them as having only one eye, or at least keeping one covered. Other contacs make no mention of such a distinctive feature. It is likely we are being hunted by four, not two. And if one of them has an eye covered, it would likely be…"

"Heh, Kakashi Hatake. Then you suspect the leaf of attempting to hunt down and destroy our little organization?"

"It is possible, but irrelevant. There will be no need to report this to leader, we will simply kill them and continue to collect bounties."

"Right."

* * *

"YOU FOUGHT HIM!!"

"Sasuke. I thought I was clear that there were to be no interruptions to this report. If you cannot listen, I will ask you to leave." Tsunade stared at Sasuke with eyes that rivaled even his in cold threatening power. Sasuke slowly sat back down, allowing the four to continue the report.

* * *

A/N: If you were paying attention to the little quips that came up during the chunin exams, you'll have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen. 


	39. Encounter

A/N: Again I apologize for the slow updates but you might as well get used to this speed, I've got a lot going on now that prevents the rapid style writing that I got you all so used to.

Reviews:

Nara: Thanks fer the reading. BTW, there will be another naruhina romantic/lemon chapter coming up in te near future, so keep yer eyes open.

Antidote: Lol. Like I said before my skill in Japanese or honorifics is nil. He called him niisan in one of my subbed eps and the subs just said Naruto, so I didn't know if it was nee or nii or what else. Thnx for pointing that out to me.

Dragon: Sorry if that was a little confusing. Kisame's picture is next to the pictures of the other seven shinobi swordsmen. His picture was right next to the picture of the man they killed and collected on, who wielded a large meat cleaver by my description. If I we're describing Samehada I would call it an enormous wedge of a sword, not a meat cleaver.

* * *

Chapter 39: Encounter 

Kakashi and Sai leapt away from another bounty station. There was reason to begin worrying. The bounty stations were beginning to catch on to them, assisting them too readily. It could only mean that the bounty collectors were purposefully misleading them, or were leading them far too well. "We should expect a trap at any moment. These were the last two in all the land of water, if they are going to make their move in this country, it will be now." Sai gave no response.

* * *

"Talk." Yamato was giving his "scary face" to the bounty collector, while Jiraiya stood off to the side and looked downward ashamed. The bounty hunter immediately talked, giving them the information about the large, but unnamed bounty that had been turned in toward the north shore of the land of water. 

As they were leaving the hidden establishment, Jiraiya mused aloud, "What do those two think we are, idiots?"

Yamato shook his head. "They would not trust in these pathetic men to relay a properly hidden or well delivered message. It is likely they are leading us there of their own free will, having people running around unearthing your hideouts and beating up your henchmen can't be good for business. Itachi and Kisame will be waiting for us or not, we can only follow the leads that we were given."

"Right. I think it may be wise for us to travel as one group from now on. No doubt enough information has reached them by now that they know the number of pursuers, and quite likely our identities as well. When we encounter them, we will want to be at our full strength."

* * *

The next day, the four moved out together and began rigorously searching along the northern coast of the island. The sought any trace of Itachi or Kisame's presence. They didn't actually expect to find both of them so quickly. 

The way they met, they could tell it was a trap. The four were just jumping along through the misty forests that border the north beaches, and then Itachi and Kisame were standing on branches in their paths. None of the four could think of anything to say at first, though they did each prepare for combat. Sai had pulled out his parchment. Kakashi was gripping his headband. Yamato had his hands clasped. And Jiraiya was crouched slightly and ready to move.

Kisame was holding the handle of his large sword, still tied to his back. Itachi stood upright, perfectly motionless. Itachi turned and looked at his companion. "Well?"

Kisame continued staring forward. "No good, they anticipated that."

Itachi shook his head. "What a shame." Two puffs of smoke later Itachi and Kisame dispelled the transformation jutsu, showing that they had been hiding as each other. The four Konoha shinobi had of course anticipated such an attack, and were prepared by taking the effort of not looking into either of their eyes. The real Kisame grinned widely and brought forward his massive weapon. "Well then, we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way."

Yamato nodded. "Guess so."

Kakashi removed the part of the headband which blocked his left eye. "So let's stop playing games with each other. It's time to end this."

There was a single moment of silence. It was broken when Kakashi yelled "Move!" His companions responded without hesitation. The place they had been standing burst into flame. Even though he knew of Itachi's speed, it still amazed him to be seeing it again. He followed Itachi all through his jump and could just barely make out his use of the shadow clone jutsu.

Simultaneously, albeit slower, Kisame was performing his own jutsu. "Suiton: Exploding Water Shockwave!" He opened his mouth and launched a large stream of water out of it, very nearly hitting Sai and Yamato with the moving hose. When he was done the ground beneath them was completely coated with water which had reached up to nearly half the height of the trees they were in. After he was done he disappeared from his position.

Jiraiya took his opportunity to jump down and test. The water was fresh, non salt. He made the mental note and made a second leap to take himself back up to the trees. Itachi landed next to him at the same time. In response Jiraiya struck out, but was easily blocked. Kakashi appeared in his peripheral. Without even needing to speak, Jiraiya heard the message. He sent another attack toward Itachi, but was only using it as an attempt to tag him with an exploding note. It failed of course, Itachi blocked the attack and avoided the note. In doing so there was now a slight distance between the two. Jiraiya was now out of range of an immediate attack, and jumped away. In the same instant, a kunai flew from behind Jiraiya and hit the note he had dropped.

The explosion was bigger then it should have been, but this was because Itachi's clone had exploded as well. The tree's top swayed and snapped, plummeting into the water below and sending a large shockwave through it. From out of the disturbed surface three additional Itachis flew out. The kicked off of each other and trees until one was face to face with Jiraiya and the other was closing in rapidly on Kakashi. He jumped away as the clone landed where he had been standing, and saw that he had leapt right into the path of the third Itachi, who had hidden behind the second.

The Itachi drew a Kunai, as did Kakashi. The metal clanged, and Itachi used his free hand to grab Kakashi. Kakashi brought up his legs and kicked hard against the chest of what he was now certain was a clone. The clone held tight, but slipped just as it detonated. Kakashi went flying away and slammed into a tree with his back. He stood up quickly, knowing the onslaught wouldn't let up.

Sure enough, Itachi was standing over him and coming down with a blade. Kakashi blocked it with his still clenched Kunai. They exchanged Taijutsu for a moment. In a slight break between attacks, Itachi said, "I see. You are staring at my feet." There was another short exchange of blocked attacks. "You ma have his technique for countering the sharingan, but you have no where near his strength and stamina." Itachi was gaining an advantage. "You have excellent diversity in your abilities. You learn from your mistakes. Your only problem is that you simply don't have a good enough body." Itachi was clearly faster and stronger then Kakashi now. He was landing attacks.

Itachi was coming around with a finishing blow. A long elastic tongue reached out and grabbed Itachi's arm. Itachi traced the tongue back to a large frog, atop of which was Jiraiya. Jiraiya grinned wide.

* * *

Kisame sliced his way through the wood clones and ink beasts with equal glee. Despite his apparently crazed disposition, he was following the creatures back to their sources, based on where he first noticed them as opposed to where they attacked him from, and after long enough, he knew exactly where they were hiding. He swung samehada in a wide arc, cleaving through a tree. The tree fell away from him, forcing Yamato and Sai to leap away from their refuge. While they traveled through the air Kisame performed the Suiton: Water Shark Missile Jutsu, but manually modified it by slicing it in two with his weapon to produce two sharks instead of one, sending each after one of the targets. 

Yamato produced a half dome wooden shield around himself, pushing the water away and around him. Sai escaped by creating an ink bird and riding it out of the shark's way. Kisame quickly moved across the water and sliced straight through the wooden sphere. Yamato had already moved out of it though, leaving a clone behind to hold it as a decoy. With Kisame in his sights, he clapped his hands together and performed the four pillars technique. Large wooden beams shot up from underneath Kisame and enclosed around him. Once the ceiling was made, they dragged him straight down through the water.

Yamato relaxed, but was joined by the flying Sai, who beckoned for Yamato to hop onto the bird as well. Yamato jumped on as instructed, and just as the bird moved Kisame came rushing up from the water. He swung his blade out toward the bird but missed.

As soon as he had his footing again he rushed forward and followed the bird as it wove through the trees. He could tell that part of their strategy was to separate him and Itachi, but he also knew that didn't really matter. In all honesty he and Itachi had horrible synergy in combat. Individual combat was what they excelled in, so this was more detrimental to the enemies then anything. So he continued to follow them, slicing through the occasional ink beast or sudden attack from a tree branch.

* * *

Itachi pulled against the frogs tongue but the beast wouldn't budge. He prepared to bring his kunai down but the toad reacted and pulled Itachi off the branch and dropped him. Its tongue shot out quickly again, and Itachi guarded with his Kunai which impacted on a large piercing in the toads tongue. The power of this hit sent Itachi backwards, but he still landed with sure footing on the side of the tree. He looked up, which was effectively sideways where he had just come from, and examined Kakashi and Jiraiya. Admittedly, they were a stronger duo then he had given them credit. He acknowledged that this would be a good test of his capability, and resolved to use his more powerful abilities.

* * *

Naruto, true to his character, didn't notice Sasuke's seething rage that was so visible to everyone else. Instead he had become very giddy after Kakashi mentioned finally meeting up with Itachi and Kisame. He was equally disappointed with Kakashi's description of the fight, which was non-existent. "And then they retreated? What else happened? What kind of techniques did they use? C'mon I gotta know this stuff!!" 

Kakashi sighed. "You just want to hear about the fight Naruto." Naruto smiled guiltily. "I don't want to dwell on the subject. I just want to get moving on as fast as possible. Don't interrupt again." Naruto crossed his arms and showed his disappointment, but remained silent.

* * *

A/N: If that last bit is at all confusing, I'll explain. Kakashi who is telling the story isn't going into the level of detail you guys are getting in the main parts of the story. Naruto is of course upset with Kakashi's lack of storytelling ability. Don't worr the fight will pick up in this chapter right where it left off. 


	40. The Shark

A/N: This memory sequence is centered around the Yamato + Sai vs. Kisame part of this fight. Also, being that this is chapter 40, I figured for te sake of pure randomness to make I a story stats celebration chapter too. Here they are:

Hits: 47601 (Chapter 1: 10929, Most hit Chapter: 4, with 2386)

Reviews: 203 (Most reviewed Chapter: 14, with 9, least reviewed: 7,15,and 17, each with 2 reviews.)

Words: 99712 + about 2260 from this chapter, meaning over 100 thousand words!!!!! (Longest chapter: 26, with 3855 words. Shortest: 37, with 1553 words)

Favorites: 70

Alerts: 70

C2's: 7

Having such awesome fans: Priceless. (lol)

Reviews:

Naruto9tails: Thnx for giving it a read. Request granted.

Dragon: yep, lol.

Rasengan: You wouldn't be the person who's visited chapter 4 all those times would you? Lol.

* * *

Chapter 40: The Shark 

"Where did he go?" Kisame had disappeared completely from their sights. He had even stopped destroying wood clones so that Yamato was no longer receiving their information. "This is not good."

Sai and Yamato were still standing crouched on the ink bird as it weaved through the trees in a straight line. Sai looked down. "Could he really have produced this much water in such a short time?"

Yamato turned his attention downward. "He must have used an immense amount of chakra to do so, and he didn't look fatigued at all. Truly incredible." His eye also caught on to something else. A dark shadow was moving in the water underneath them. The shadow shifted and Yamato could see its eyes. "Move this thing NOW!"

Sai banked left skimming around a tree they had just passed by. As he did so two Kisames leapt out of the water attempting to grapple the bird. When they missed, one of them placed his feet back as the other swung its samehada. Kicking off and with the momentum of the blade propelling him, the Kisame went flying toward the bird. Sai swerved again, avoiding the secondary assault. He patted the back of the bird and said "Hold on." After the pat its inky back sprouted several inky feathers, which Sai and Yamato grabbed onto for support.

The bird shot straight up, bursting through the tree canopy and into the bright sunlight. Sai leveled out the flight and began circling in the sky. They both relaxed slightly, feeling relatively safe in their elevated position. This illusion was shattered when an enormous geyser of water shot up underneath them, forming a plateau of flowing water which pierced the forest. Standing atop the fluid monolith Kisame looked out and smiled. He held his sword in his armpit and formed hand seals. From the center of his tower large blasts of water began launching out to strike at the ink bird.

Sai was doing his best to dodge them, but they were fast. Yamato held on to the bird tightly, but found time to talk. "If you were lighter could you move faster?"

Sai just barely dodged another missile, and between noticing that Kisame's tower was moving and listening to what Yamato had asked, he said "Yes, but-" He didn't have any time to finish before Yamato dived off of the bird back toward the trees. Kisame had no intention of losing his target. He aimed his attacks for the falling body and let fly with the water missiles. Sai painted several smaller birds which dove down and absorbed the attacks for Yamato, clearing his way into the trees.

Disappointed but relentless, Kisame picked up his attack on the flying target. "My, this would be so much easier if water could fly." He launched several more missiles. Sai dodged them with a roll and pulled away into a wider arc, he had decided to go on offense. The bird was now going straight for the watery tower that supported Kisame.

* * *

Yamato fell into the leafy canopy and caught himself on a branch. Through the trees he could see the water tower and began to make his way towards it. Halfway to his objective he was attacked by Kisame. _'No, just a water clone. It will only have ten percent of his normal abilities, if I can't take this on, then we are wasting our time fighting this guy at all.'_ Yamato created several wood clones and attacked with them. When the Kisame clone cleaved through the first one it lifted itself off the ground and was carried by the blade. The clone warped into a sheathe around Samehada, gripping tightly to the scaly surface. The other clones attacked as well, but were knocked away by the still potent sword. 

With a moment to think, Kisame's clone dropped his samehada, which instantly exploded into a large quantity of water. With his free hands the Kisame clapped and held them together. From the very water that made up his body he made a new Samehada, and held it out, unsheathed once more.

Yamato was a little surprised, but overcame this. He clapped his hands together and said "Mokuton: Forest Allies Assault!" The tree that he, his clones, and the Kisame clone were all standing on began to shake and groan. It sprouted several new branches, many of which launched out in positions to deal damage to Kisame. The water clone dodged away and leapt to another tree. That tree as well began to act up, lashing out at him with newly sprouted branches.

As he landed on yet another tree the two wood clones arrived as well, and with synchronized attacks, destroyed the watery clone. Yamato relaxed slightly and released the jutsu, but began moving after that. He had to be quick to give Sai a shot before Kisame could react to his presence. He rushed over to the base of the water tower and performed a new jutsu. "Mokuton: Four Cornered Moutnain Decapitation!"

Four large trees sprouted from the ground in corner positions around the tower. They were tall enough to be seen over the canopy. Branches shot out from each, but only on the sides that pointed in to the tower. The branches grew out and pierced through the tower. Soon there we're so many branches shot through that the tower was completely severed from its base.

Kisame felt this effect immediately, as the water he was standing on simply dropped out from beneath him. The dropping motion had thrown him with such a jerking motion that Samehada had flown out of his grasp and out of his reach. Despite his reaching and the blades own conscious movements, he could not reclaim it before a bird made of ink flew by and gripped the sword in its talons, holding on even after spikes flew out form the sword and sliced at the creature's feet.

Kisame attempted to perform a jutsu after this, but was interrupted by Sai's attack. As he flew by his falling opponent Sai drew out several small monsters. Each jumped away from the canvas and attached to Kisame with their claws. Many of them Kisame could smash right off his body, but quite a few had latched onto places which he could not easily reach and had begun to claw and bite at his flesh. Kisame waited to fall back into the water he had created before, but was instead met by a hard and flat wooden plane which had appeared over the tree canopy. The very plane of wood that had destroyed his tower.

Kisame impacted this plane with his back, which thankfully destroyed the creatures that had been clawing at him there. He took the next moment to smash the last few ink monsters, and then surveyed his surroundings. The plane was relatively flat, bulging in some areas from the woods contours. The only thing that stood out was the man that was also standing on the plane.

Yamato was breathing heavily. Though he had not been injured, this last jutsu had required an enormous donation of chakra. He had hoped that Kisame was similarly fatigued after so much combat, but his eyes told him a different story. Kisame's breath was calm, his posture was firm. If it weren't for the blood leaking from various places on his body, you couldn't have told that he had been fighting at all.

Kisame let the wound on his forehead bleed into his eyes, it didn't bother him one bit. It was a feeling he had gotten used to long ago when he was still a mist-nin, though it had been some time since he had felt it again. He noticed he was bleeding out his back quite a bit, but that too was a familiar sensation which did not bother him in the least. The leaf-nin facing him posed little threat, drained of chakra as he was. And the flying shinobi was only an annoyance. The easiest way to end this fight quickly lay right beneath his feet. He reared his fist up and threw a solid fist into the wooden surface.

Yamato watched his move, but was disgusted with how simple Kisame made it look. With just one punch he penetrated straight through the solid 5 foot thick wall of wood Yamato had worked so hard to create. Kisame disappeared into the hole, while Yamato hurried up to look down through it. Kisame had already disappeared into the water. Behind his back Yamato could hear the flapping wings of two birds. He turned and faced Sai. "This pause will not last long, and my chakra has been greatly depleted. How about you?"

Sai looked at the hole, then to Yamato. "His face." His comment was met with confusion, so he explained.

* * *

Kisame sat beneath the surface looking up at the spec of light that was the hole he had just dropped through. He paused for a moment to consider wether or not his targets had moved and if so then how far. After he had adjusted his aim, he formed the hand seals and charged up four times as much chakra as was actually needed for the jutsu. The water surrounding him surged and flowed. On the surface above his head several distinct patches of water began to bulge and swell. These watery mounds shot up as missiles and slammed into the wooden barricade. With just a little extra push, Kisame shoved the missiles through the barrier. 

On top of that barrier Yamato nodded in understanding as Sai finished speaking. At that moment the watery missiles shot up and brought with them a hail of wooden shards. Yamato leapt onto the inky bird and rode as the conjured beast wove through the explosions and avoided the shrapnel.

Out of the first hole Kisame reappeared, supported by a column of water that brought him up and acted as a plug for this hole. Kisame scanned left and right, spotting the bird that was still gripping his Samehada. He rushed towards it. Sai was too occupied in dodging the water missiles which Kisame continued to fire as he ran. When he was close enough he leapt and grabbed hold of his sword. The bird continued to fight against him, but he destroyed it while simultaneously holding his blade. His leap carried him right off the edge of the plane, and back down into the water.

Yamato held his hands together. "I hope this works."

* * *

Submerged once again Kisame looked over his reclaimed weapon. Motion in the water around him caught his attention. There were spherical objects surrounding him. Even slowed by the water he could swing the blade fast enough to smash into one of the objects. When he did, it exploded, and the water around it grew dark. Without any noticeable prompting the other spheres also opened up, quickly blackening all the water in Kisame's vicinity. 

In shock, he took in a breath through the gills that marked his face. His lungs burned and his vision blurred, he coughed out with his mouth, but this only allowed pure unfiltered water to flood his mouth and lungs. Finally understanding what was wrong he swam straight up propelled by chakra. He stood up quickly on the surface, then quickly fell to his knees coughing and gasping for air. Still his lungs burned from his previous inhalation of whatever chemical his adversaries had decided to use.

In the reflection of the water Kisame could see something descending on his position. He turned around to face his attacker but could not fully react. It was Yamato wielding a long wooden bo staff, which slammed into Kisame's shoulder.. The staff was covered in explosive notes. "Kuso!" The explosion hammered into him.

Yamato and Sai rode the bird down until they hit the canopy, where Sai leapt off and Yamato followed. Once they were off he turned the bird into a large beast and sent it down to survey the results of the explosion. It leapt back up shortly after holding in its mouth a very spiky Samehada. Beneath them they could also hear the sound of the water beginning to drain away to places beyond their battlefield.

"Lets go find the others." Yamato said before he began leaping back the way they had come.

* * *

"Needless to say, Ink wasn't exactly a good thing to inhale. It certainly slowed him down. After we knocked him out we took his sword but left him there, we thought we'd be able to go back for him." Yamato finished explaining the details of his encounter, something done primarily to quell Naruto. 

Jiraiya was the next to speak. "Right then, about Itachi…" Jiraiya tactfully avoided meeting Sasuke's gaze.

* * *

A/N: It's Kakashi and Jiraiya vs. Itachi, next chapter. 


	41. Kaleidoscope

A/N: See reviews section.

Reviews:

Useful76: You live up to your name. I must admit I was initially hurt and felt like something of a failure at having read your review. But then I remembered that was stupid and started examining things. I've come to notice that I have been trapped in a rut of focusing more on my action oriented ideas and have been drifting away from the dramatic relationship centered parts that were so prevalent in the early parts of the fic. This, as I now examine it, is a mistake, and robs readers of half of the genre this story is categorized under. I've got the action/adventure mastered, but where's the romance? Bearing this in mind I've decided to take a break from the battles (and subsequently the flashbacks) to focus on what Naruto and friends are doing on this rather normal late summer day. This break will begin in the chapter after this one, and will hope to recapture the in depth character scenes which have been gone for a loooooong time.

To summarize if your type that sees big paragraphs and skips them, I messed up, and will be trying to atone with the next few chapters. Thank you to Useful76, for being the person who got the balls (or genetalia of your choice) together to flame me, as I've been asking people to do since the very beginning of the story.

Rasengan(and any other perverts out there): Useful's influence means I will be moving up the scheduled lemons I alluded to earlier. However I want to remind you all that this fic was always meant to focus more on the dramatic and action elements of the Naruto-verse, and see if I could convey them well in a purely written format.

* * *

Chapter 41: Kaleidoscope

The frog was attacking independently of Jiraiya now, which would not normally have been a problem, save that this frog had clearly been well instructed. It was tracking Itachi by his scent and sound alone, keeping its eyes shut. Besides the large stud in its tongue the frog was also wielding two katana, and was strong enough to cleave straight through a tree with a single strike. Itachi continued to dodge the creature's attacks, waiting for his true opponents to reveal themselves.

Kakashi came diving into Itachi's peripheral, but his movements indicated that this was actually a clone. Itachi threw a kunai into the clone's chest, far to fast for any retaliation. It disappeared in a puff of smoke. Itachi dodged around the frog's tongue once more and continued moving through the trees.

* * *

Kakashi spoke to Jiraiya, who was standing next to him. "He's evading Gamahaitou. His movements seem to radiate outwards, he's looking for us."

Jiraiya nodded. "He is fast. We should aim to kill him, as such this will be the plan. I will confine him, and you will use that jutsu of yours to defeat him. Can you do that?"

Kakashi nodded. "Right. Summoning Jutsu!" A puff of smoke later there were eight dogs standing in circular formation right in front of Kakashi and Jiraiya.

The smallest of the dogs spoke from his perch atop another dog's head. "Hello Kakashi, Jiraiya-sama."

Kakashi stood up and pulled out a kunai. "I don't have anything for you to track the opponent by, but he should stand out. His name is Itachi Uchiha. At this moment he is being kept busy by a large frog named Gamahaitou. Your task is to work together with Jiraiya-sama to immobilize the target. I'll handle it after that. You will have to rely entirely on scent for this fight, if the opponent catches you in eye contact it's over. Got it?"

There was a small chorus of barks. "Jiraiya stepped up. Alright then, follow me." He leapt away. Kakashi created a shadow clone and sent it after them. He waited until the clone was out of sight before following after it. They couldn't risk Itachi seeing the real him, as Itachi had proven he was quite superior to Kakashi.

* * *

Itachi saw the attack coming, and hurled a series of kunai against the approaching dogs. Each of the ninken deftly leapt out of the path of the kunai. The frog attacked him with its long tongue, but Itachi leapt out of the way of this. He was now moving towards Jiraiya who he had seen briefly while moving. Sure enough, Jiraiya attacked from behind that tree with a flying kick. Itachi twisted in the air and grabbed the Sannin's leg. He added force to their motion, sending them away from each other, Jiraiya mostly down.. While flying still, he performed and launched an incredibly powerful and fast fireball straight at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya didn't stop at the water, but instead dived straight through the surface. The fire ball diffused upon hitting the surface, and with a powerful kick of his legs Jiraiya resurfaced and was quickly on his feet. Quickly was not fast enough however, Itachi was already down with Jiraiya and attacking him. The old man moved with incredible finesse and was able to hold off the Uchiha's attacks. Despite doing well, Jiraiya hated having to look at his opponent's chest rather then his eyes. A loud croaking noise caught his attention and Jiraiya jumped back, as Itachi did the same.

The frog landed on the water between the two combatants and swung it's katana toward the enemy. Itachi had moved out of range, and simultaneously performed an incredibly quick jutsu. Several watery spikes shot out of the water around where he landed, shooting at Gamahaitou, who deflected them with his gauntlets. After the initial barrage the tree next to Gamahaitou began to fall towards him, so he leapt away. As the tree landed in the water it sent out a wave, which Jiraiya used as a stepstool to leap over the tree.

If he were following his normal battle strategies, this would have been the time to launch a fireball of his own, but he knew that such an attack would be pointless against a sharingan user like Itachi. Luckily he had the help of the ninken. The squadron of dogs rushed in to attack Itachi from every side. He spun to attack the first two, which put his back to Jiraiya. The Sannin wasted no time forming his hand seals and blowing out the fireball. Two more ninken had been knocked away by Itachi's counter attack, and the other four halted their advance to allow the fire ball to hit and to prepare for Itachi's next move.

The moving air currents lifted Itachi's scent to them. He had jumped to avoid the fire ball. All four of the unharmed ninken leapt to intercept Itachi. He was right in front of them and they opened their mouths ready to bite. The fireball disappeared beneath them, it had stopped earlier then they had expected. Their teeth dug into Itachi. Too late they realized it had been too easy. Itachi was still standing beneath them, he hadn't moved. The clone they were biting exploded launching the four of them away in separate directions.

Pakkun, who had been one of the first four hit stood up and looked to where his brethren had fallen. Each of the four that had been caught in the explosion disappeared in a puff of smoke to return to their home. "Damn this guy." Pakkun and his remaining brothers stood up, and faced their opponent. He took note of the moment around them with his nose. Kakashi and his shadow clone were in place. Now everything was up to the four dogs, the frog, and Jiraiya. All of them against one boy. And all of them felt outmatched.

Except Jiraiya. He formed hand seals right in front of Itachi. This time there was no risk involved. Itachi couldn't have copied the jutsu if he had wanted to. "Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind." The water they were standing on solidified into a fleshy substance, and the trees around them became covered in the same substance. Several off the trees only grew the membrane on one side, these trees became interconnected by a web like substance which grew until it matched the substance coating everything else. Jiraiya, Gamahaitou, the ninken, and Itachi were surrounded on all sides by the insides of a frog.

Gamahaitou made several noises of dissatisfaction, which Jiraiya could understand. "I know this place must be unsettling to you my friend, but please bear with it. And as for you Itachi, I had always wondered how you managed to escape from this jutsu. Black flames which could burn the throat of a fire breathing toad. How could such a jutsu exist?"

Itachi shifted his feet slightly to keep them from fusing with the ground around them. "Last time, it was enough to run from you, and escape warranted the use of that technique. I would have preferred to use it on you, but Naruto stood between us, the collateral was to great to warrant. This time however…" Though Jiraiya could not see, as his eyes were focused on Itachi's chest, Itachi's eyes were changing. It was the mangekyo sharingan, but not in a shape that allowed the use of Tsukiyomi, nor in the shape that permitted Kakashi's jutsu. These were the eyes that brought forth Amaterasu. The tomoe of his sharingan twisted into hooks that curved counterclockwise and barely touched the next tomoe, and their bases connected at the pupil, which had become hollow.

Though he did not see the change in Itachi's appearance, Jiraiya could sense the change in Itachi's demeanor. He also felt his own cold sweat, and his mind flashed back to when Tsunade had beat him when they were younger, and then to his training with Naruto. He pressed into the frog stomach and forced it to assault Itachi with tendrils of flesh, while he simultaneously issued an order. "ALL OF YOU LEAVE THIS PLACE NOW!!!" Gamahaitou knew better then to distrust the toad sage, and immediately departed in a puff of smoke. Pakkun hesitated and his brethren followed his lead. He considered for only a moment longer, and after watching Itachi dodge and destroy every tendril that attacked him. He disappeared, and the other ninken followed him.

Itachi was done playing. He turned to face Jiraiya. "Amaterasu."

Kakashi watched in horror as the black flames ripped through the side of the fleshy structure, igniting whatever they contacted with. Shortly after that the membranous shell fell apart and disappeared. All that he could see standing once it cleared was Itachi. Itachi tilted his head and looked directly at Kakashi. Kakashi reached for a kunai and drew it just in time as Itachi landed on his branch. Kakashi could immediately tell that Itachi was fatigued, based on his slowed movements. Even so, the Uchiha was more then a match for him. In between attacks Kakashi found the time to create a shadow clone. The delay from using this technique allowed Itachi to get a hit in, which destroyed him.

* * *

The real Kakashi, some distance off and completely hidden from the sight of the fighting Itachi, understood what had happened and clenched his fist. He would have only one real opportunity. He focused chakra into his hand, but didn't let it take shape just yet. From where he was to the branch his clone was fighting on was a straight shot with that trees trunk separating them. He moved as fast as he could straight forward. And activated his lightning blade at the last second mid flight. With the blade he rammed through the tree, and on the other side he shot through his own clone and bore his glowing hand toward Itachi.

Itachi thrust himself to the side, but his motion began in his torso giving Kakashi, who had been focusing there, just the smallest fraction of a second with which to adjust his aim. The very tips of Kakashi's chakra charged fingers scraped Itachi's side. Even that little contact was enough to leave gashes.

Itachi kicked Kakashi away and regained his balance. Quite suddenly a sound of rushing water caught his attention. He looked down and saw the water draining away from their battle field. That could only mean that Kisame was unconscious or worse. Complicating things were the two other leaf-nin, whom he could see rapidly approaching. Itachi wasted no time jumping down and running across the muddy ground in the direction that Kisame had run off in earlier. He was far too low on chakra to face three more opponents.

It didn't take long for him to find Kisame, and he could tell the konoha ninja were following him. Itachi hoisted Kisame onto his shoulder, formed several shadow clones, and began running off in separate directions.

* * *

Jiraiya concluded. "So we lost their trails."

Sakura considered for a moment. "Jiraiya-sama, how did you survive that attack of his?"

Jiraiya smiled. "I ducked through the bottom of the frog stomach before it could hit me, and was hiding in the water about to attack when Kakashi came running up. Then I started following with them."

Tsunade looked out the window. "That will be all for today, We will continue the report tomorrow. Jiraiya, Kakashi, Yamato, Sai, I want to discuss something further with you, please stay. The rest of you are dismissed."

* * *

Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, and Sasuke walked out of he building and split into three groups with very little talking.

* * *

A/N: Next chapter: Hinata and Naruto hang out and see how their getting together has affected other people. 


	42. Day

A/N: No review section this time, for the sake of pure randomness. Anyway, this chapter came out a little long, both because it wasn't preplanned and I just couldn't find a good stopping note. I've got a pretty good Idea of what the next chapter will include so Ill try not to keep you waiting so long.

* * *

Chapter 42: Day

"Tsunade-baa-chan has some nerve kicking us out like that. Don't you think Hinata?" Naruto was walking through the village with his hands on the back of his head.

Hinata looked up, and noticed that Naruto was looking back at her. "I think she has a lot of work to do. She can't just devote all her time to us." She looked away from Naruto to say most of it. Naruto didn't really respond he just turned away and kept walking. Hinata stayed close behind him, and eventually asked, "Where are we going Naruto-kun?"

Naruto stopped as soon as he heard her. He turned and looked at her. "I don't know, where do you want to go?"

There was a silence between them for moment, before Hinata looked to the side and started listing off possibilities. "Well, we could go train, or get something to eat at Ichiraku's. Whenever I'm not with you I spend time with my team mates…"

Naruto snapped his fingers when she said the last one. "Lets do that!" He grabbed her hand and started rushing away with Hinata pulled along.

Hinata could barely speak, but managed to sputter out, "Nar-ru-to-kun-my-team-meets-in-the-other-dir-ec-tion" She suddenly felt like she had gotten whiplash as her body was violently spun around and pulled in the other direction. Naruto turned and smiled at her, before turning back and picking back up his pace.

* * *

Sasuke was wandering through the village. He still felt alien in this place, even after over two months of living here. His konoha headband didn't help, when he walked around town it almost seemed to amplify how out of place he was, and several times he thought about ripping it from his arm.

His plan had been to go to the training grounds, but along the way his eye had caught on to something else. He altered his course and found himself once more in the old Uchiha clan district. Now there were just the normal people around. He pushed his way through the district until he found the monument again. He read over every name on it, and then stared at it intensely.

* * *

Sakura steadied her breathing and cleared her mind. She created the image in her mind. She focused her chakra, and then… "Wrong!" Kurenai snapped out at her. "You have to focus more, if you can't do this here how will you do it in combat? It's not as simple as a transformation or clone jutsu, you have to make your opponent honestly believe what you want them too by masking their senses. Ooof" Kurenai wobbled and sat down, holding her gut.

Sakura turned to look at her genjutsu tutor and smiled. She honestly knew that Kurenai was trying very hard to put on the persona of a tough teacher that was needed, but with a baby on the way it was nearly impossible. Sakura stood up and walked over, placing her hand on Kurenai's gut as well. "It won't be much longer will it? Just a couple more months. Amazing."

Kurenai smiled at the gesture but shook her self out of it. "You're paying me Sakura I've got to give you your moneys worth so back over there and remember to focus!"

* * *

"HEY KIBA!!! SHINO!!!!"

Kiba and Shino turned to see Naruto walking up and practically dragging Hinata behind him. "Eh? Naruto? What are you doing here?"

He reached them and smiled wide. "What I can't hang out with my girlfriend's friends?" Hinata froze when he said that. Her shock also caused her to grip Naruto's hand quite tightly, earning a response from him. He turned and looked at her wide white eyes. "Hinata-chan? Are you ok? What's wrong?" He looked behind him where she seemed to be staring, but didn't see anything.

Kiba gripped his head. "Just give her a good shake Naruto that'll wake her up. You really don't much about her for how much time you've been spending with her. Mentioning that kind of stuff does this to her."

Naruto shook her and she did snap out of her trance, replacing it with an intense blush. "Kiba, what do you mean mentioning stuff?"

Kiba looked aghast. "How long have you two been together and you don't know? What did you two never say a word and just do it?" Hinata made a squeaking noise.

Everyone turned to face her, but Naruto was the only one who did so inquisitively. She stuttered a little, swallowed and said, "It's just…that's the first time you've ever actually called me your girlfriend." She looked up from her fingers and saw much the same scene as before.

Naruto scratched his head. "Oh, I guess I just thought it was kinda obvious. I mean we've been going out for a while now, spending all our time together, living together, slee…" Hinata cut him off with her waving arms and a very large shake from her head.

Despite her efforts Kiba was still laughing, having figured out what Naruto was going to say next. "Naruto that makes her your wife not your girlfriend! Or maybe your very devoted house servant!" He laughed quite rancorously at his statement.

Hinata had turned bright red, and Naruto was only a few shades beneath her, but laughing slightly to cover it up. Kiba decided to make another observation. "You know I'm actually impressed, Aren't you Shino? Hinata should have fainted by now eh?"

Shino didn't really respond, at least not in any visible or audible manner. Naruto was the one who spoke up, "Hmmm, that's right, Hinata-chan, you used to have a fainting problem didn't you?"

Naruto was now looking at her again, so she felt obligated to respond. "Well uh… sorta…I mean..only…when……"

"She used to faint whenever you came closer then 5 feet around her!" Kiba yelled this quite loudly.

Naruto had to comprehend this for a second. "What do you mean?"

Kiba was once more aghast. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT DO I MEAN?! HOW COULD YOU HAVE NEVER NOTICED?!"

"Well, she used to faint all the time, I never really knew what caused it, I figured she was sick or something" Naruto crossed his arms to think about this more.

Kiba didn't let up. "You baka Naruto, she fainted because you were around!! Because she was shy around you!!!"

Naruto lurched back a little. "Eh? Really? Hmmm…Well, she was always fainting around me, I thought she fainted when I wasn't there too."

Kiba hunched. "Well, I guess that makes some sense."

Shino finally spoke, his voice cutting off al other thought processes. "Hinata, Kiba and myself have talked and decided to take on a mission soon, we don't want to take to much time off. I was wondering if you will be available, after the recent incident at the hospital."

Hinata nodded instinctively. Shino made a small nod that was barely noticeable beneath his hood, collar, and sun glasses. "I'll go put our name back on the active duty roster." Shino stood up and leapt away.

Naruto scratched under his nose. "I think he's gotten even creepier since I last saw him."

Kiba smiled and said, "No doubt about it. So Naruto, How many times have you two done it?" There was another squeak and several shades of red all mixed with Kiba's loud unstoppable laughter.

* * *

"Shikamaru you gotta help me out I don't know what to do."

"Do I look like I've got any more experience in that area then you?"

"What about that girl from Suna?"

"How many times do I have to tell people that there is nothing between us? I'm just the resident tour guide for foreigners. What does this have to do with me anyway you're the one who can't get the courage up to ask her out. And anyway why would you want to ask _her_ of all people out?"

"Well…uhhhhh…Why does it matter? Do you have any tips or not?"

"No. And anyway turn here."

"Why?"

"Because if Naruto sees us it will be…"

"HEY SHIKAMARU!!! CHOUJI!!!!"

"…Troublesome."

Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata came walking up waving their hands, to which Chouji replied kindly. Shikamaru gave a limp wave before reaching into his pocket to pull out a cigarette and light it up. With the lit cigarette in his hands he said. "Hey there Naruto, Kiba, Hinata." The massive dog barked at him. "Eh, Akamaru too. So what's up?"

Naruto smiled and said, "We were all just hanging out together."

A voice came from the surrounding area. "Well that just won't do." Ino appeared and walked forward, standing on the edge of the group. "Look at this, its way out of balance." The group collectively looked at her with bewilderment. "Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, and I'll count Akamaru too. That makes five boys, but only one girl, Hinata. Your group is thrown off is dynamic. I've got an idea. Hinata, come with me, we'll go find Sakura and have an all girls night how does that sound?"

Hinata didn't really know how to respond, and she would honestly have rather simply stayed with Naruto, but Ino grabbed her arm and started dragging her away. "Uhhh! Ino?!"

"Trust me Hinata you have been spending way to much time with those guys if I hadn't shown up to rescue you you would have become one!" Of course Hinata knew that this was a joke, but being non confrontational as she was, she simply allowed Ino to lead her away.

Behind her she could hear Naruto yell out, "It's ok Hinata-chan I'll see at home later on tonight!!" Though Hinata was relieved to hear it, Naruto was immediately regretting having yelled it out, and he was surrounded by three young men who had come to the simultaneous conclusion that they were single and that Naruto was not, and all that said realization implied.

The four of them started hanging around a tree on the side of one of the roads. It was Shikamaru, standing at the base and still smoking who spoke. "How did you end up with her anyway Naruto? I mean, we all knew she was crazy about you for a long time, but we were also sure you were completely oblivious to it."

Naruto couldn't really deny that, but he did try and think back to how it had come about. "I don't really know, it just happened. Why are you guys looking for pointers? Its not my fault that none of you have my good looks."

Kiba waved off Naruto's comment from the branch he was on, and said, "Like Naruto's some kind of hot shot now because he finally realized some girl was crazy about him and took advantage of the situation to create a relationship. All he had was dumb luck, Hinata's faint gene was tuned to him purely at random."

Naruto gritted his teeth and raised his fist. "That's not true!"

Kiba squatted on the branch and looked down at Naruto. "Really? Then tell us Naruto, what amazing thing did you do to woo her?" Kiba waited as Naruto scratched his head, rubbed his chin, then finally dropped his head down in failure to think of anything. "Hinata picked you. Why none of us will ever know. You want tips you're asking the wrong guy Shikamaru."

Shikamaru took the cigarette out of his mouth and let out a long smoky sigh. "I don't need pointers, I was just curious that's all."

Chouji had been listening and understood that Shikamaru had asked for his benefit. He decided to lighten up the tension and change the target of persecution. "Well Kiba, if you're such an expert on what women like in men, why don't you tell us?"

Kiba jumped down and stood up, with Akamaru following close behind. "First of all, women like a guy who's clean. Then they want someone with good fashion sense. And you've got to pay for the meal."

From out of nowhere they heard a voice. "Kiba, you smell like a dog, no one wears leather anymore, and you spend ninety percent of your mission money on dog food and pet care materials. You have asked me and Hinata to pay for your meals 4 times this week, and the night that you didn't you told me you ate some of Akamaru's food." Shino came into their view dropping into the lane from over the tree, and landing right in front of Kiba. "You refute your own advice."

All the other men were looking at Kiba with looks of mingled humor and ridicule. But Kiba remained calm. "You didn't let me get to the most important part." He snapped his fingers and Akamaru barked. The enormous dog then leapt up into the air and became hidden in a cloud of smoke. What landed next to Kiba was a much smaller Akamaru, though still larger then Naruto remembered him. Kiba continued, "None of that other stuff matters if she loves dogs." Kiba began laughing while Akamaru barked approvingly.

The other's face's dropped and sagged in disappointment.

* * *

Hinata felt extremely uncomfortable, but having felt like that for the majority of her life she simultaneously felt as if she was in her element. She was sitting in a restaurant she had never heard of, with Sakura, whom she was actually quite friendly with, and Ino, whom she could not remember ever having spoken to for longer then 20 seconds. Sakura also looked quite out of place, and she also seemed tired though it only showed in her eyes, as if she had been without sleep for a while. Ino was just glancing back and forth between them so Hinata tried to say something. "Ummmmm…"

Ino practically shouted, "Alright I'm jealous I said it!" Both Hinata and Sakura just looked at her. Ino settled down and started to stir her drink. "The last thing Asuma said to me before he went was 'Don't lose to Sakura, in ninjutsu or love.' I hate to say this but I'm failing miserably on that second part." Sakura quickly realized what she was talking about, and blushed reflexively. Hinata was confused for a second, but after seeing Sakura's reaction she too began to blush reflexively. Ino continued, "Trust me when I say I'd never hoped to resort to this but I don't know what else to do." She took a deep breath, and then mumbled something under her breath.

Sakura and Hinata leaned forward, with Sakura actually asking, "Wha?"

Ino once again shot up and quietly yelled, "I want to know what it's like!" Sakura and Hinata jumped back and blushed more furiously then ever. But Ino didn't let that stop her. "I want to hear from you first Hinata. I mean, why Naruto of all people? Is freaky hyperactive baka your thing?"

Hinata squeaked and hung her head so thoroughly that her nose was pointed straight down. Despite this, the blazing red of her cheeks was still visible. Amazingly despite her posture and demeanor she was able to say "I…He…I…And…I…And…Hee…eee…"

Ino blew a puff of air out. "There's no need to be embarrassed Hinata, we all know you and Naruto have gone all the way. And he doesn't have any merit anywhere else so he must be killer in the…"

Sakura finally snapped out. "INO!!! Are you trying to make Hinata faint? Besides I'm sure he has some other qualities you just haven't noticed." She remembered back to the time when she had actually been attracted to Naruto. It all seemed like something of a dream now, but there had definitely been something about him worthwhile.

Ino was a good listener, and nurtured a few ideas which weren't that far from the truth. Still, she actually wanted to hear from Hinata. "Fine then. Hinata, why do you stay with Naruto?"

Hinata's head raised just a bit. "Naruto...is…confident." Thinking about that struck a tone in Hinata, and her head raised a little more, enabling the other girls to once more see her eyes. "Naruto, never doubts himself. He never loses faith in his own abilities. He is strong and brave and…and…and…I…"

Ino took a sip from her drink then brought her face up. "It sounds more like you admire him."

Hinata brought her face up just a little more. "I…do. I wish I could be more like him. And when I'm with him, or even just around him, I feel like I am."

Ino considered this. "Must be nice." Hinata smiled and nodded lightly. "Now your turn Sakura, what do you see in Sasuke?"

Sakura jumped a little. "What do you mean? Didn't you used to have a big crush on him too?"

Ino sighed. "Yeah but that was years ago, I didn't really know what I wanted in a guy and he was the brooding silent type. No doubt he' still gorgeous but his personality has gone down the tubes, at least in any public sense. He's downright scary sometimes. Just today, before I met up with Hinata, I saw Sasuke and decided to say hi. When he looked at me…" Ino was shivering and fiddling with her fingers. "…the look in his eye was…I really though he could have just reached out and killed me right there, and it almost felt like he was. Then it stopped and he walked away."

Sakura didn't really know how to respond, but she wanted to know more about what may have triggered this. "Where were you when you saw him?"

Ino took another sip from her drink. "I was in the eastern part of town, by the monument that's over there."

Sakura instantly understood. Ino was referring to the old Uchiha district and the marker of the clan massacre. Very few people of her age actually knew a great deal about the event; It wasn't something people liked to talk about. "He might have just been in a bad mood, I'll ask him about it later tonight."

Ino decided to drop her wariness, and pounced on the opening Sakura had just presented. "What else are you two going to do tonight?"

Sakura blushed and forgot all about what she had just been talking about. "I...Ino would you drop that kind of talk. It's sooo…"

Ino snapped out interrupting her. "We're not little kids anymore, didn't the teachers always tell us this kind of stuff was natural for growing women?"

Hinata's stuttering drew their attention. "Ino…Why d-d-don't you just g-get a b-boyfriend?"

Ino slumped her head down. "It's not like I haven't been looking, I just haven't found anyone. You girls are so lucky." She turned to Hinata. "Your guy was probably desperate and latched on when he found out you were mad for him." Then she turned to Sakura. "And you saved his life, its hard to compete with that." She crossed her arms and laid her head on them on the table. "I wish I could find a guy." Quite suddenly she was back up. "But until I do I'm going to live vicariously through you two."

Neither of them liked that declaration. Sakura tried thinking of some way to describe it, at least to get Ino off of her and Hinata's back. "It's hot, and sweaty, and…Well…well…"

"Like being full." Both Ino and Sakura turned toward Hinata, both more surprised at hearing her talk then anything else. Hinata ducked her head a little to avoid the gazes.

Sakura thought it was fairly accurate, at least for an initial description. She turned back to Ino and saw her confusion. "Sorta like being full yeah, but, down there, and then it hurts…"

Ino didn't want to hear that. "What? Hurts?"

"Only the first time." Once again their eyes shot to Hinata who once again ducked with an amazing blush.

Ino turned back to Sakura and realized that this statement of Hinata's had been a surprise for her as well. "Sakura, have you and Sasuke really only…once?"

Sakura's eyes shot down to the table cloth and she began tracing the floral pattern in circles. "Well…yea…"

Though met with some surprise, Ino couldn't help but laugh. When she saw the looks the other two were giving her, she had to explain herself. "It's just so backwards. Hinata, the shy, silent, jittery little girl, has gotten more experience with men then either of us, who had to be the prettiest girls in our class! And the _man_ she's getting it from was the least attractive boy in our class!" She broke out with laughter again, her comments thoroughly having humored her but offending the others.

Sakura and Hinata stood up and pushed in their chairs. As they were walking away Sakura turned back to get one last jibe in on Ino. "I think I see why you don't have a boyfriend, pig." With that they walked out leaving behind a very disheartened Ino.

* * *

A/N: BTW, this is all written by me, a guy. All female perspectives are completely BSed. I tried my best based but tell me if I'm too far off. 


	43. Evening

A/N: I think this chapter came out well, and it follows right where the last one left off.

Reviews:

Useful: Glad you liked, and thanks for getting me do this, it's been fun on my part to get back to this part of the story too.

Rasengan: Always full of useful information aren't you? Oh well maybe you'll stop bugging me somewhat after the next chapter. You know what I mean.

Shadow: Whew, thanks for the reassurance. Lets see if I can keep it up in this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 43: Evening

Kiba continued his laughter for some time until Shikamaru finally asked him to give it a rest. Right after that Shikamaru pulled out another cigarette and lit it on the smoldering end of his current smoke. Kiba sniffed the air. "Sheesh man, you really are going through those things fast."

Shikamaru let out a long smoky drawl and ended it with half laugh half cough. "Yeah, I started as a sort of tribute to Asuma, but now, it's just habit. That and nicotine."

Naruto scratched his head. "Huh? Nicoteen?"

Shikamaru let out another long drawl. "It's a chemical in cigarettes which makes you want to smoke them more, despite how bad they are for you. To put it simple, it's not a habit I would recommend to others, but I can't stop myself." He inhaled though the cigarette, letting it slowly disintegrate and turn into ash, which he purposefully flicked to the ground.

Naruto watched the whole procedure. "Seems stupid if you ask me."

Shikamaru sighed. "I agree with you Naruto, but I don't really feel like quitting."

Chouji shook his head and stood fully upright. "I'll see you guys later." The remaining four looked at their large friend, so he responded to their looks. "I'm hungry, and I forgot to bring chips with me." There were immediate nods and sighs of understanding as he left.

Shortly afterward shino left without saying much, and was followed by Shikamaru who said that he was going to go nap somewhere else, and finally Naruto and Kiba said bye with Kiba riding Akamaru off.

Naruto didn't really know what to do with the rest of his day, since Hinata would be having her "all girls night" with Ino and Sakura, so he decided to go wandering and see who he met up with.

* * *

Sakura took Hinata out of that place and walked down the street with her to a quieter area. She spun on her heel and turned to face Hinata. "I'm so sorry Ino said that about you, really."

Hinata had been a bit surprised by Sakura's reaction, but smiled after that phase passed. "Arigatou, Sakura, but it's okay. I'm used…"

Sakura couldn't believe Hinata was about to say that. "That's no excuse! How can you just let people say that about you?!"

Hinata was very mixed. She was partly shy out of instinct because someone was yelling at her, but the other part of her was happy that Sakura actually gave a damn. "I…If I tried to…to defend myself every time I was criticized…I'd never have time for anything else. Its ok if some people don't think I'm good enough, I know that there are others who…Think I'm just fine. My team, my friends, and…and…"

Sakura finished for her. "Naruto." Hinata nodded in her manner. "I know what you mean there. Naruto has that effect on everyone. There's just no way to not be at your best if he's around."

Hinata nodded again. Her mind focused back on all the times just having him nearby made her feel stronger, then she hit the memory of her and Naruto's second night together, when Sakura had shown up. "Sa…Sakura…You…liked Naruto too…didn't you?"

Sakura felt a little ashamed when she was asked this, but she wanted to be honest. "Yeah. After I learned bout the Kyuubi, about how much he's gone through, that's when I started. Then I saw him become that monster, and I was so worried and afraid, I think that then I really did…love him. Yamato saw it, but he didn't say anything. Naruto of course kept up his advances, and I was in denial, so I turned him away. I noticed that I really did want to eat around him and all that stuff, but, it was just reflex to turn him down. And then I saw him and you and…"

Sakura paused, and Hinata was breathing more then a little harder then usual. Sakura concluded her pause. "I realized I was too late. I had lost…no I shouldn't say that. Anyway after that I was a little heart broken and cried it out, and then Sasuke…Sasuke appeared, and I remembered him, and everything about him. I was so desperate for love at the time I just reached out for him and wouldn't let go again." She finally turned to face Hinata. "You know, I still love Naruto." Hinata's eyes went wide and she stared at Sakura. "But don't worry, it's more that, he's like a brother to me. I'm happy for him, and you."

Hinata smiled her small smile. "I know Sakura. Thank you."

Sakura smiled and looked around. "You know, we can still make this an all girls night, just the two of us."

Hinata actually liked this prospect, and gladly took Sakura up on her offer.

Quite suddenly Sakura rescinded her previous offer, because she saw Tenten. "Tenten!!! Hey!!!"

Tenten saw Sakura and waved, walking over. "Hey Sakura, Hinata. What's going on?"

Sakura noticed that Hinata was looking around a little more nervously then usual, and figured out why. "Not a whole lot. Hey where are Neji or Lee?"

Tenten sighed. "Lee is obsessively hopping on one leg up the stairs to the Hokage monument and hopping back down on the other leg 1000 times because I was able to throw a kunai more accurately then him once out of 1000 times." Sakura couldn't help but sigh herself and laugh a little, to her that certainly sounded like Lee. "Neji on the other hand is, well he's been too busy to do much of anything with his squad for some time."

"Huh? Why?" Sakura asked curiously.

"He's been elected to be directly involved in the training of the next head of the Hyuga clan." Sakura was very confused to hear this, and was about to turn around when Tenten answered her unspoken question. "Hanabi, not Hinata. Hinata was…well…"

Hinata spoke up. "Freed." She was met with slightly shocked looks, so she felt a need to elaborate. "I never wanted to lead the family. My father let me be free. That's why I can live with…" She blushed horribly and cut off her statement.

Of course Sakura knew instantly and didn't bother saying anything, Tenten on the other hand was not so quiet. "Oh that's right, you moved in with Naruto, very bold move Hinata. Man I tell you I never saw that coming in a million years. But hey that's good for you."

Hinata just nodded, and Sakura thought it best to shift the subject of the conversation. "So where are you headed to Tenten?"

Tenten shook her head. "Nowhere. With my team so occupied and everything I have nothing to do but go to a training ground and kick things, or maybe go home and stare at the ceiling." A loud grumbling noise caused Tenten to cringe her face in embarrassment. "Or I could get something to eat."

"Then why don't you join us? Me and Hinata were sort of having a girl's night out. Wanna join us?" Sakura asked.

Tenten thought about it for a moment. "Sounds like fun. Who else is coming?"

Sakura shrugged. "Whoever we find."

Tenten looked at her hand and started counting off names. "Well there's Ino…"

Sakura interrupted "Not Ino, she said some things to Hinata that weren't very…nice."

Tenten didn't want any more details, so she just started listing off other girls who she had known at the academy. The trio set out into the village to find some more friends before their twilight turned into night.

* * *

Ino drink was empty, but she didn't bother to ask for a refill. The waitress was beginning to give her dirty looks, but she didn't really care. She sighed while going through her thoughts. _'Sakura's probably right, I shouldn't have been so blunt. Great now I feel sorry for the little princess. She gets to inherit her entire clan. She gets the guy. And everyone is always so protective of her, like she needs to be coddled. ARGH!!' _Ino was vigorously scratching her head. "I sound like I'm jealous of her!" She realized that saying that out loud had attracted the attention of several people around her, so she left some money on the table and stood up to leave.

Once she was out she thought about some more things, and began to feel like getting something a little stronger to drink. Ino found her way to the bar and went in, taking a seat and ordering up some sake. She was surprised when she had company shortly after her third drink. "Ino, what are you doing in here?" The company said.

Ino looked up and saw Chouji sitting next to her and looking at her with a concerned look. Ino brushed him aside. "Having a good night out didn't I already tell you I was going to do that? See the bartender here used to be a ninja, but he lost a leg and his right eye, and had to quit. He opened this bar and he's very kind to ninjas, and asks very few questions about age." She said this in quiet rush, and then took another drink from her cup.

Chouji just watched her take a few more drinks before he reached out a hand to stop her. He took the cup out of her hand and set it down in front of him. "Ino, you really shouldn't do this to yourself."

Ino slapped him on the shoulder, not to hard but not in a friendly way either. "And just what do you think I'm doing to myself?" She now had the whole sake bottle in her hand.

Chouji reached and grabbed the bottle out of her hand, placing it in front of him as well. "I guess things didn't go so well with Hinata and Sakura?"

Ino turned away and bit her lip. "What do I care it was a stupid idea anyway." She turned back towards the counter and made a reach for the bottle. Chouji stopped her hand with his own. Ino smiled. "I already paid for it, so one of us is going to drink that."

Chouji paused for a moment. He let go of Ino's hand and reached over to the bottle. With a swift motion he brought to his lips and downed it all.

* * *

Of all the people Naruto could have run into he hadn't expected to run into bushy brows. "Hey…Naru…to…"

Meeting with him was strange enough, but what he was doing was on a whole other level of oddity. Lee was hopping up the massive staircase to the Hokage monument on only one foot. Naruto started walking next to him and just watching him go. "Uhhh, Bushy Brows, why are you doing that?"

Between steps he took the time to answer Naruto's query. "Tenten…beat…me…at…kunai…throwing."

Naruto scrunched up his face. "Well isn't that her specialty?"

Again between steps, Lee panted out "Not…an…excuse."

Naruto sighed. "So how many more times do you do this?"

Lee wiped some sweat off his head and said "only…nine…hundred…and…fifty…laps…to…go."

Naruto smiled. "Bet I can do a thousand before you can finish."

Lee also smiled and stopped on his foot to face Naruto and say "You're on."

Naruto put his hands together and performed his Taiju shadow clone jutsu. A thousand Naruto's working in perfect unison hopped up the mountain on one foot, then back down on the other foot. Lee met up with Naruto at the bottom and rested on both his legs. "SIMPLY INCREDIBLE NARUTO!!! I SEE WHY THEY MADE YOU JONIN!! NOW THEN FOR FAILING I MUST PERFORM ONE HUNDRED PUSH UPS ON EACH FINGER!!!"

Naruto watched as Lee flew to the ground and started doing push ups on his right pinky. Naruto also got down on the ground in push up position, but before he started he said "Hey Lee, watch this!" Lee didn't stop his own push ups but he did turn his head to see Naruto. Naruto focused then shoved off the ground with his hands and clasped them behind his back. Right as he was about to fall flat on the ground a burst of blue chakra spilled out of his chest, holding him up. By varying the density of the chakra Naruto slowly began to move up and down in push up style. Naruto smiled. "No hands at all."

Lee couldn't believe it at first, but he quickly stood up clenching his fist and crying. "AMAZING NARUTO!!! YOU HAVE BESTED ME AGAIN!!!!! SO FAST THAT I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT MY FAILURE CONDITION SHOULD BE!!!!"

Naruto's chakra flow broke and he fell flat on his face. He stood up and dusted himself off before waking away and leaving Lee to think up new ways to test his body's limits.

* * *

Hinata couldn't say anything, being so surrounded. Tenten and Sakura had succeeded in finding a grand total of 8 other girls from the days in the academy to join them for the night. Everyone seemed to be having a great time, save Hinata who couldn't say a word over the rancor. She figured someone must have told a joke or brought up a funny memory, as the other girls were all laughing. Sakura was sitting to Hinata's left and talking with someone else, and to Hinata's right was a girl she didn't even know the name of.

Sakura found a pause in her lively conversation to turn around and nudge Hinata. She leaned in close and said "Come on Hinata, were all friends here so open up a little." At that moment someone else yelled at her from across the table so Sakura turned her attention back into the conversations.

Hinata looked around the table at all the smiling and talking faces, only a few of which she really recognized. "Hey you're Hinata aren't you?" Hinata leapt a little and turned to her right where the girl she was next to was looking at her, and giggling a little. "Yep, that's you alright. You'd do the same thing when ever Iruka would call on you."

Hinata didn't know what to say, so she started stuttering. "oh…oh…um…a…no…"

Her neighbor laughed a little and handed her a glass. "Here, drink something it will help you to relax."

Hinata took the glass but then paused. "Is this, sake?"

Her neighbor laughed again. "No, just water, but see how well it works you just touch the glass and you can talk again."

Embarrassed Hinata took a quick drink and did feel a little relaxed. "Ummm…I'm sorry, I don't remember your name."

Her neighbor was a little surprised. "Well, that does make sense, we never hung out or anything. I'm Sukunai." She was suddenly shoved toward Hinata by the girl on her right, which caused her to crash into Hinata bit. "Sorry about that." Hinata helped her sit up and then took another drink of water. Sukunai looked at Hinata and noticed that she was still quite uncomfortable. "What's the matter?"

Hinata looked around and turned back to her neighbor. "I've never done anything like this before. I don't really know what to do."

Sukunai laughed. "Just listen around you, hear what everyone is talking about."

Hinata looked around and focused in on the parts of conversations she could hear. There was a bit about fashion choices, festivals in nearby towns, and stories from the past. But there was one general theme she picked up on. "Everyone's talking about boys."

Sukunai smiled. "That's right. Hey Hinata do you have a boyfriend?"

This question caught Hinata off guard. She couldn't believe there were people that didn't no about her and Naruto. She began to think, and realized that the people that did know, with exception of Ino were all the type to not make a big deal out of the situation for Hinata's sake. This meant that only people who were really engraved in the gossip around town would really know. "Umm, yes."

Sukunai gave a friendly shove to Hinata. "Well don't stop there who is he what's he like?"

Hinata braced for the reaction. "He's…Naruto."

Sukunai was shocked. "Naruto!" She turned around and started talking to some of the other girls. Hinata watched as most of them were quite surprised by the information while others shrugged it off. While the information was circulating Sukunai turned back to Hinata. "Wow, I remember Naruto alright. I guess its true, opposites attract."

Before Hinata could respond the story circulated to Tenten, who was sitting on the edge of the group of older girls from her class. Tenten responded instinctively. "Boyfriend and girlfriend? They live together." She immediately covered her mouth afterward, but it was too late. It didn't matter if the girls knew Hinata or Naruto or had known about their relationship before. This piece of information spread fast and caused many of them to begin looking at and pointing at Hinata.

Hinata's face did its signature dive, accompanied by its usual shade of red. Of course Sakura realized what was going on by now and was attempting to get people to leave Hinata alone, but simultaneously knew that there was no hope. Hinata felt a hand on her shoulder and thought it was Sakura. She looked up and realized that Sakura was sitting on the other side of her, and that it was Sukunai. Sukunai asked "Are you ok, I mean, it wasn't like a secret or anything was it?"

Hinata thought for a moment, and she thought really hard. Her blush receded a bit. "No. It wasn't a secret. I just don't see why everyone has to talk about it."

"Don't see? You're living with your boyfriend that's a big deal!" There was a murmur of agreement around the table. Sakura wanted to help Hinata out, but was simultaneously ashamed of her similar situation and didn't want the table turning on her.

Sukunai thought for a minute. "I don't see what the big deal is, if anything its just more convenient." Sukunai's index finger indicated one of the other girls. "Weren't you talking about how your boyfriend has to sneak in through your window and move as silently as possible to avoid your parent's wrath?" She pointed to another girl. "And you once talked about how uncomfortable sleeping in the woods was after sex when it was too late to go home." She pointed to a third girl and said "And didn't your parents forbid you from seeing your boyfriend again when they caught you guys."

The last girl she pointed to also added "And my dad broke his nose and his wrist, he dumped me afterward."

Sukunai waved her arms in a dramatic manner. "You see! Hinata's got the right idea, she got out of her parent's house and moved in with the guy, now she doesn't have to worry about any of that stuff happening. As far as I'm concerned, Hinata's the smartest one here."

The talking peaked at this point, but no one could really understand much of it until someone shouted out "What makes your opinion so valid, you've never even had a boyfriend Sukunai."

Sukunai laughed. "I just haven't found a guy who's bold enough to ask me to move in with him on the first date." The laughter was loud, and after it died down several conversations started up and the focus was off of Hinata. In fact Hinata found herself involved in one of the discussions that was about their experiences as Kunoichi.

One thing that Hinata stored in the back of her mind was that she had not mentioned that she had moved in with Naruto after only one real date.

* * *

A/N: Sukunai will appear in future chapters be sure of that. And if you missed my response to Rasengan above, the lemon is coming. Like all my previous lemons it will be the closing part of the chapter so skipping it means you won't miss any of the more important details of the storyline. 


	44. Night

A/N: Did I keep you waiting long enough? Sorry, but there has been a lot of stuff going on, and to top it off my computer was died and I had to get it replaced before I could type her up. This chapter is not nothing but a lemon, so plz read at least up that point. For those of you I happen to know will read past that point (coughrasengancough) plz enjoy, it's been long overdue.

Reviews:

Useful: Glad to please the fans. There will be battles to come, but I've reworked everything in my head to include a lot more of the emotional dynamic. AkA: Things are gonna get crazy, stuffs gonna get blown up, and people will be having feelings all at once.

J0t: Wow, I like this review.

Rasengan: Here now get off my back.

* * *

Chapter 44: Night

Without even realizing it, Chouji had gone through at least another bottle of sake. Ino had kept ordering them, and Chouji kept drinking. At first it was just to prevent Ino from drinking, but that phase had passed. They were both drunk. "So what happened to your all girls night?"

Ino finished her current drink before she responded. "I said some mean stuff about Hinata and Naruto and they decided to leave. Why does everyone treat her like such a baby? She should be able to stand up for herself. The little Hyuga princess. I could act all shy if I wanted to too!!"

Chouji also took another drink. "But Hinata doesn't act all shy, she just is. Besides Ino, why should you care?"

Ino slammed her fist down. "It's not fair. Poor little Hinata just blushes and people come running from every direction to offer her support. And then she blushes more and they buy into it like bad shoppers. Ugh." She poured herself another shot of sake. "And I'm not jealous if that's what you thinking."

Chouji laughed a little. Then he took a drink and started laughing even more. Ino called the bartender to give them another bottle. He walked over empty handed and leaned in close to Ino. "I think you should be getting home little lady, I don't need your father to come in here and make me give myself another beating."

Ino scoffed but stood up and began stumbling toward the door. She was about to take a really nasty fall when Chouji caught her and started walking with her. They left the bar together, supported on each other as both of them were quite drunk.

* * *

Several bows and waves and "good bye"s later Hinata finally escaped from the party. During the mass confusion as the girls all left she had lost track of both Sakura and Tenten, so she was on her own and free to go home, hopefully to Naruto. She wanted nothing more then to see him, and be with him. In all honesty she had never instigated love making between them, but she missed him so much at the moment she had a feeling that she could change that tonight. Her face was burning from her thoughts, so she shook it wildly for a moment and began rushing towards home.

* * *

Naruto left his encounter with Lee and wandered for quite a while longer when he began to realize how late it was getting. He wanted to be home to greet Hinata when she showed up, so he started in that direction.

Along the way someone began to follow him, though he made no notice of the person. Whoever was tracking him was slowly getting closer, and Naruto went through the possibilities. In a best case scenario, it was Konohamaru trying to outdo him, as he had yet to attempt since Naruto's promotion. Naruto took a turn and caught a brief glimpse of his pursuer. They were adult size, so it wasn't the brat. That left Naruto with his worst case scenario. _'Akatsuki…'_

Naruto continued to take the pathway home. Deviating from his path would only clue the pursuer in that Naruto was aware. Instead Naruto needed to simply wait until whoever was following him made his move, then Naruto could counterattack. He didn't have to wait long.

The pursuer leapt at him, making only just enough noise moving through the air for Naruto to detect it. Naruto immediately turned and threw a kunai, which was deflected by the sword his opponent wielded. Naruto appeared near the kunai, having used his leaping thunder god jutsu. He caught his would be assassin off guard and slammed a fist into his back and a knee into his gut. The clone disappeared and Naruto spun looking for the real one. He spotted him on the ground.

When Naruto landed he got a better look and saw that the assassin was not alone. Held in front of him at kunai point was Hinata. "Move and she dies." The voice of the assassin was muffled. Naruto stood absolutely still. He couldn't move, not if it meant she would be hurt. The assassin shook his head. "Pathetic Naruto." Before Naruto could react the assassin shoved the kunai through Hinata's neck, and she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Still surprised Naruto couldn't stop the assassin from moving forward and punching him in the gut and knocking him down. On the way down Naruto managed to pull off the mask of his attacker. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke turned around. "I came here to request something of you, but you couldn't do it so I won't waste my time."

Naruto stood back up and shook his fist at Sasuke. "What the hell are you talking about? And what's the big idea freaking me out like that? And what did you mean by request?"

Sasuke started walking away from Naruto. "I just said I won't waste my time."

Naruto ran forward and grabbed Sasuke's shoulder. "Well you just wasted mine so let's make it fair!"

Naruto pulled Sasuke around to face him. "Fine then Naruto. If I fail, will you take over my quest?"

Vague as the statement was, Naruto understood. "Itachi. What are you saying Sasuke? You'll win! There's no way you can…"

"Shut up Naruto." Sasuke had Naruto's attention with that. "That sentimental crap about believing in people might make Sakura or someone else hopeful but I know differently. I know who my opponent is. I know what he's capable of. And no matter how much I hope to win I might not be strong enough. If that happens I will die. But at the very least I need to know that he will be killed. You are stronger then me Naruto, we saw that. If I fail, I need you to do it in my place."

Naruto paused. "Right." Sasuke started to walk away. "But I still don't think you'll fail."

Naruto couldn't tell if Sasuke reacted or not. But home was in the other direction.

* * *

Hinata reached the door to her's and Naruto's apartment. She pulled out her copy of the key and unlocked the door. Inside the lights were off, so she flipped one on and kicked off her shoes. As she was pulling the door shut an arm reached through. Hinata was so surprised she leapt back and fell down. Naruto walked in laughing nervously and helped Hinata up before kicking off his own shoes. They walked in and sat down on Naruto's little couch.

Naruto was the first to say something. "So how did things go with Ino?"

Hinata jumped a little and averted her eyes from her feet to meet Naruto's. She looked away again though. "Oh, uh, well me and Sakura left and then we invited Tenten and a few other girls and we had dinner together."

Naruto didn't really know what more to ask her, he was relieved when she asked him about his day. Naruto began retelling her everything he remembered of the conversation with the guys, then about running into Lee, but he stopped when he hit the bit with Sasuke. Hinata could tell he was worried by something, and Naruto could tell he was causing her to worry. "I met up with Sasuke and, he said some things that worried me. He's not sure that he can beat Itachi."

Hinata cringed. She had heard all she ever wanted to hear about Itachi Uchiha long ago. "But, he can right?"

Naruto nodded. "Of course he can, but what he said, it was… AAAAHHH I don't want to bother you with it Hinata." He let out a big yawn. "I'm tired, I think I'll go to bed." Naruto walked out of the room leaving Hinata alone.

* * *

Sakura was getting into bed, when he walked in. Thought this was where he slept she was surprised by his attitude upon entering. He practically kicked the door in and walked right over to Sakura, pinning her against the wall with his hands to the sides of her head and his own face pointed downwards. Sakura quietly asked "What's wrong Sasuke?"

Sasuke stood still for a little longer. He slowly lowered his arms and backed away from her. "It's nothing."

Sakura grabbed his arm. "Don't lie to me Sasuke. Earlier today Ino saw you and said you put her through the same genjutsu Sai once described to us. And now this? Tell me what's wrong or I won't let go. Is this about Itachi?"

Sasuke spun around and tore his arm away from Sakura's grip. He was now looking into her eyes, showing her his murderous intent. He stopped the genjutsu and spoke. "Do you still remember your promise?"

She turned away with tears beginning to well up. "Of course. And I will hold true to it."

Sasuke moved forward and breathed heavily. Sakura could feel it he was so close. "I don't know if that would be enough anymore."

* * *

Hinata walked into the bedroom and was greeted by Naruto's snores. She began to undress and put on some pajamas, which she preferred to night gowns. Once that was done she pulled the sheets up off the bed and moved onto it, snuggling into her spot right by Naruto. Naruto always slept in the same manner, flat on his back with his arms out to either side. Hinata would always come in second and rest her head not on pillows but on Naruto's arm and shoulder, pressing her body up against his side and grabbing his clothing for comfort.

She was quite content in her usual position, until she remembered her plan from earlier. She sat up and looked down at Naruto. "Naruto. Naruto." She shook him just slightly and he slowly woke up.

His eyes were foggy but he could make out Hinata's blurred shape in front of him. "Hinata? What's wrong."

Hinata held her head still, forcing herself not to turn away. "I just wanted to talk some more." It was all she could say.

Naruto scratched his head and rubbed his eyes. "Huh? About what?"

Hinata continued to focus on Naruto's face. "Naruto, why did you come to see me in the hospital that night?"

Naruto knew automatically what she was referring to. He couldn't help but smile and laugh. "To return your shirt and bra." While saying this he reached up and poked her gently on the chest, which brought a giggle out of her too.

She silenced her self and asked more specifically. "Why did…_that_ happen though?"

Naruto scratched his head and then sat up completely. "I don't really know. I mean there was so much stuff on my mind and I was so confused and I guess I felt really comfortable around you and I just went out on a limb and didn't know what would happen. Why?"

Hinata focused all the more intently on Naruto's eyes, which even in this darkness seemed to glow blue. "I could just never understand. It was so sudden. I've loved you forever but you never made any such advances on me and then all of a sudden we…" Hinata had rushed through this whole statement at incredible speeds, but simply couldn't finish it. Nor could she keep staring at Naruto, who's returning glare was beginning to get to her. She turned away and began twiddling with her fingers.

Naruto reached out and grabbed first her hands, and then her cheek with his other hand. He turned her face to him. "I don't really get it either, but aren't you happy?"

She looked right at him, and leaned closer and closer. Right as their faces were about to meet she whispered "Yes."

* * *

() LEMON () LEMON () LEMON () LEMON () LEMON () LEMON () LEMON ()

* * *

Hinata was unusually vigorous tonight. She practically sucked Naruto's tongue out of his mouth and shoved her own into his. He grabbed the back of her head and pushed her onto him, deepening the kiss even further, if that were possible. When they finally separated Naruto gasped. "Wow Hinata-chan. That was…" He couldn't complete before Hinata kissed him again, this time just a short peck at his lips followed by several more in rapid fire. Between them she unbuttoned the front of his pajamas until the last button and after the last one she pushed the top of his clothing off while simultaneously pushing onto him and entering into another deep kiss.

Despite being unable to breath from being smothered in Hinata's lips he managed to begin trying clumsily to undo Hinata's buttons as well. He managed to get one off before She pulled away from him and simply pulled the entire upper part of her pajamas off over her head. She had nothing else on underneath which proved to Naruto that she had been planning this, further adding to the oddity of the evening. He leaned forward while her arms were still raised and kissed her right on the tip of her breast.

Hinata squeaked at what Naruto did and placed her hands on his shoulders to push him away. He in retaliation wrapped his arms around her waist and said "This will be good Hinata, trust me I just never got around to it before. If you're gonna pull out so many sexy new moves I'm allowed to too right?" He didn't wait for a response. He licked her breast earning another squeak, and then he placed his mouth over the entire tip, earning a heavy exhalation with the starts of a moan in it.

Hinata's arms were no longer pushing against Naruto, but were now pulling him closer. She had her face slightly upturned and was biting her lip, straining with the sensations going through her. And then she felt Naruto bite her gently. She almost cried out but held in the noise releasing instead a gasping exhale, after which she returned to biting her lip, now harder then ever. For a brief moment Naruto stopped, but it was only to switch to her other breast and keep going. During the transition Hinata had repositioned herself onto Naruto's lap and now she was wrapping her legs around him. After the bite came she couldn't remain silent, she moaned.

Naruto looked up at her smiling. "See, told you." She pushed him down so she was lying on top of him and breathing into his chest. Naruto slowly pushed her off of his chest and to the side, placing her on her back. He reached down began to slide his hands into Hinata's pajama bottoms. Before he could do much though Hinata reached down and simply tore them down and off. Naruto still had his hands by her waist and could feel that she didn't have any panties on. Whether or not she had been wearing any to begin with or had taken them off with the pajama bottoms was a mystery to him, but not an important one. He was about to reach for his own pants when he felt Hinata's hands around his waist. She pulled down and with Naruto helping by shifting his positions to aid her.

Hinata got them down to around his knees when he took over by kicking. Then she reached over and began grab at his chest waiting for him to climb up and begin. Before he did he reached over to his nightstand and began rummaging around. Hinata knew what he was doing. She knew the necessity of it. She knew all of it. But she didn't think about any of that. She climbed onto Naruto's body and situated herself with one leg to either side. She instantly had Naruto's attention. "Naruto-kun…"

Naruto was incredibly surprised, never, NEVER, had Hinata done something like this. He also felt his already completely erect member throbbing at the feeling of Hinata's bare womanhood just pressed against his body like that. "Hinata-chan…Wha…" Hinata suddenly turned slightly and reached a hand around behind her, grabbing on to Naruto's cock. He couldn't stop his hips fro thrusting upward, causing Hinata's slender fingers to inadvertently rub along his length. She let go and began to slide her body back along his body until she could feel it against her. Naruto was no longer thinking clearly either, he reached forward and grabbed her ass and began lifting.

She helped, bringing her body up with her legs. And then she felt him right beneath her, uncovered. "Naruto-kun…I…"

Naruto breathed heavily. "Hinata-chan…we should…"

Hinata pushed her body down. She felt him filling her up, and it didn't feel much different then usual. What was different were their positions, as Hinata had never been on top before. She tried to move by grinding her hips forward, and was met by a wave of heat in her body. She shifted her body in a circular manner around his shaft, letting it rub against her inner walls. Her instincts told her what to do next. She pressed her body up with her legs, and then let her body slam back down landing with a smack on Naruto's body. She exhaled in pants, the angles of this position rubbed a different part of her insides, a place which as she was discovering, was much more sensitive for her.

Naruto was also discovering new sensations. With no rubber his member was fully exposed to the heat and pressure of Hinata's insides. As Hinata continued to lift herself and then press herself back down onto him, he felt his release building much quicker. He also noticed that Hinata was looking much more heated as well. "Hinata…Its…Its…Hinataaa…"

Hinata was growing tired, and was thankful that Naruto was taking some of the weight off by using his hands to grab her bottom and lift her up. Her body was full of heat, and pressure. She opened her eyes and looked down at her lover. "Naruto." She said quietly, and then she yelled out "NARUTOOOO!!!" While she yelled her body fell forward and she was left lying on Naruto's chest as he continued to lift her and press his hips into her.

Naruto released her bottom and wrapped his arms around her back, with one on her head. He shifted the position of her head just enough so that he could kiss her. Once he released her lips he pressed his forehead to hers and said "Hinata…I'm…I'm going to…I need to…"

Hinata gasped form one of his thrusts. After it she managed to say something. "Me…Inside…me…Naruto…Naruto…I…want…"

He didn't think, he just kept going breathing heavier and heavier. Until "Hinata…"

She felt it, felt him, it was a warmth in her body like none she had ever felt. Naruto kissed her again, and then rolled her with him so they were on their sides facing each other. During the action his depleted manhood came away from her. Hinata wiggled in the bed until every part of her that could be touching him was, and she twined her legs around his and her arms she bundled in front of her.

Sleep came for them.

* * *

A/N : N\A

Palindromes are fun. Next chapter will be here sooner.


	45. Morning

A/N: This chapter will be leading back into a short action segment but more based on the set up for the last part of the story. Yeah you heard me this thing actually has an end coming up.

Reviews:

Chaos: Palindromes, when two words or other ideas are mirror images of eachother. (A/N : N\A) (sorry for my abstract grammar nerd jokes. My screen name is not an exaggeration in any way.)

H+H: Yeah, you're right, but this is a fanfiction about an anime. This kinda stuff happens constantly in both, so it should be able to happen twice as fast if you mix the genres. I guess I shoulda toned it down a bit, but I had some logic in those choices. 1. I wanted Sasuke to stay strong without going all demon mode, and that healing jutsu was able to restore Garra's sand control even without the Shukaku, so I figured it could do this too. 2. You can't tell me every village just magically always has a number of genin that can be divided by three for three man teams, a rule would have to exist to allow for such cases to still compete.

A lot of you: SHE IS NOT PREGNANT yet . Though they don't know that. And I like to screw with you guys so you shouldn't take everything I say or write completely seriously, but then again there's a lot of stuff you need to take very seriously. I like my job.

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Chapter 45: Morning

Hinata had a dream. She was standing in the Hyuga compound, this she could tell from the architecture and the view from the window. However besides the window this room had no other exits or entries, and no furniture at all. Hinata walked over to the window and saw some movement but couldn't track it. Then she heard the giggle and she spun to look back in the room. She was no longer alone.

There was a small chilled standing in the room with her now, facing the other way. From behind all that Hinata could really make out was his hair, which was short, dark, and spiky in all directions. At first she though she recognized him as Konohamaru, but that thought disappeared. She couldn't really explain how she knew, but this wasn't him she was dreaming of. The young boy turned around and looked up at Hinata. His eyes were unmistakably Hyuga's, pale and wide with no pupil. They were odd however, in that they both had a more apparent bluish tinge to them then the usual lavender of the Hyuga family.

Somewhere in Hinata's mind she made a connection and froze. The young boy said something but she couldn't hear it, instead she heard someone swearing.

Hinata woke up and heard Naruto saying "Kuso!" from somewhere nearby. She looked around and couldn't find Naruto anywhere near the bed, so se figured he must be in the kitchen. This was confirmed by the aroma of ramen she picked up. Hinata quickly dressed and walked out into the tiny living room, scooting past the tiny couch which dominated the space, and finding her way into the kitchen.

Naruto was scrubbing the floor with towels when he saw Hinata's feet enter the space. He looked up and saw the rest of her. As his eyes trailed back down he inadvertently focused on her gut for longer then intended, and then quickly went back to scrubbing the floor. The tense atmosphere wore down on hi so much that he cracked and began speaking. "UHhhhhhhhhhh…You were tired so I decided to make breakfast for once, but I spilled the hot water while I was pouring it in."

Hinata heard what he said, but for once his words idn't really have an effect on her. She brushed off what he said with a casual "oh" and grabbed a towel to help him clean up the water. Right after she started their hands met in the motion and they both stopped. Hinata was breathing quite heavily, and she noticed that Naruto was as well. "Naruto…kun…I…I'm…"

Hinata couldn't complete before Naruto interrupted. "I'm sorry Hinata-chan, I don't know what got into me last night. What I did was totally unsafe for you. Can you forgive me?"

Hinata broke down crying. The effect was enhanced by the already wet floor. "Forgive you?" Naruto was a little stung by that, but continued to listen. "Forgive me! I'm the one who…and…I didn't let you use protection and…I… I'm sorry."

Naruto spontaneously hugged Hinata, letting her cry into his shoulder. When she began to slow down they held each other at arms length. "Its ok. We can deal with anything. In fact, I bet nothing will come of this at all. Lets just remember it as a good night ok?" Hinata nodded weakly and looked up to Naruto's face. He smiled his wide grin at her, bringing one to her face as well. "Now dry off those tears, we've got to see Tsunade-baa-chan and you look like I just dumped you."

A short laugh escaped Hinata and she wiped her eyes on her sleeve. They finished mopping up the floor and ate a small breakfast which was hastily prepared by Hinata. She didn't mention her dream.

* * *

Chouji woke up and looked around his room. Nothing was out of place, but something was definitely wrong. It hit him, and he said it out loud while grabbing his aching head. "How did I get here?" He remembered walking out of the bar with Ino, then taking her home, then…

Chouji's eyes went wide for a second before the pain in his skull caused them to squint again. He ran over the memory again and again, and despaired at how accurate it was. There was no way it was a dream. He had kissed Ino. Chouji searched around his bathroom for the asprin and took a couple. He hoped that Ino would have been too drunk to remember that, or if she was aware of it at least not bring it up around anyone especially not her.

Of all the days to make a stupid move like that why the day right before he was going to ask his crush out? He berated his stupidity but got dressed and headed out anyway, planning to stick to his plan, but being wary of how there could now be unforeseen bumps in the path.

* * *

Sakura couldn't sleep at first, but she did nod off at some point. It didn't last long though, she was awake well before sunrise, with Sasuke sleeping next to her. She rolled over to face him, having been unable to do so last night after his actions. He was facing the other direction, but she could see his shoulder. His body was shiny from a thin coating of sweat. She reached forward and grabbed his shoulder, and was struck by how cold it was.

The contact caused Sasuke to stir, and he very nearly struck out at Sakura on instinct. He held him self back. Sakura recalled her hand and got out of the bed. Sasuke didn't move until Sakura was gone. He gripped his hands together wringing them to the point of pain before he released them. In his mind he weighed the new shape of his life against the old version. Though he was excellent at hiding it and appearing droll and unhappy all the time, he was happy, happier then he had ever been under Orochimaru's tutelage. Happier in fact then he could ever remember being.

It was this very happiness that infuriated him. _'You do not have enough hate…'_ That was Sasuke's whole goal, hating him. Hating him enough that when they fought Sasuke could absolutely win. And now he couldn't find it anymore.

* * *

Kakashi was up and was moving towards the Hokage's office. On the way he was joined by two of the three companions who had gone with him on his mission. He acknowledged their presence. "Yo."

Jiraiya stepped up and spoke in a rather serious tone. "So, are you finally going to deem today the time to reveal what you've been holding back?"

Kakashi tilted his head, and shrugged. It was Yamato's turn. "Fine then, play stupid as usual. But we both think its today when you talk, otherwise our report will be out of order."

Kakashi stopped and turned. "I will tell you what I know when the time and the audience is right."

Kakshi took off again and his companions followed. Yamato turned to Jiraiya. "He means the Hokage right?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Of course, but I think his students need to be present as well." Yamato nodded, and they kept on walking.

* * *

Tsunade watched as they entered the room one by one. Kakashi. Yamato. Jiraiya. Sasuke. Sakura. Sai. Naruto. Hinata. Hinata was the wild card in all this, the one Tsunade wasn't entirely sure of, but Naruto trusted her, and there had been no objections to her presence. "Right." She clapped her hands and several ANBU appeared outside the door to close and lock it. The same occurred for the window, with blinds also shut, the electric light was all they had now. "The ANBU are performing a silent sanctum jutsu, as per Kakashi's request. What is said in this room can only b heard inside this room by those inside this room. Recording devices are useless. All information is secure. Now what is it you have to say Kakashi?"

Kakashi snapped shut his book and said "I will say the important parts when the time is right, for now I will let the others tell the story."

Tsunade was more then a little disappointed with him, but let it slide. Instead she began scanning the other three shinobi looking for who would pick up the report. Jiraiya started. "After our first encounter, the wounded Kisame and Itachi escaped, and we had taken possession of Kisame's weapon. We continued to track them down for about a month, before we finally encountered them again, but this time, they had come prepared…

* * *

"We've been on this path for weeks now. Are you sure this is working?" Yamato asked while he continued jumping through the woods.

Kakashi nodded and said "According to Guy's information that weapon actively seeks out Kisame's hands, unless it can be confused by great distances, it should even be attempting to find him now."

Yamato sighed. "I know all that. But wasn't Guy only fighting some kind of clone? The real thing may not function he same. What I'm wondering is how they could have gotten so far away so quickly, despite being wounded and low on chakra."

Jiraiya chimed in. "Itachi is a master at escaping undetected, even with someone like Kisame in tow. The fact that they've kept moving despite the severity of his wounds shows that they are aware of how we will be tracking them, and how effective it is. They aren't stupid."

"Everyone stop!" All of them headed the command and looked back at Sai. Beside him was his ink bird which still grasped the Samehada in its talons. The blade no longer moved at all. The four became tense.

The leaves rustled.

Quite suddenly eight bodies were on the move in the forest. The bird was the primary target, as it was quickly destroyed, sending the samehada flying through the air. As the konoha nin regrouped on the ground, they caught the first detailed sighting of their opponents. There were four of them, all in the Akatsuki garb. Itachi stood in the middle, and to his right was Kisame, rearmed with his sword. Floating above them on a large hovering clay bird was Deidara. To the left was someone they had never seen before, and average looking man with a strange mask that allowed him to only see through his right eye.

It was this strange newcomer who spoke first. "Four on four, or four one on one fights?" He didn't even wait for a response. "One on one it is! I CALL DIBS ON KAKASHI!!" Kakashi and those around him raised their defenses.

Kisame smiled wickedly. "I like this kid's style. I choose him." He pointed Samehada right at Yamato.

Jiraiya examined the situation and came o the only conclusion he could find. "WE will agree to fight by their terms for now. But if it gets to bad, we will have to retreat. I will take Itachi then." The konoha nin nodded, understanding how Sai's techniques should serve as an ample counter for Deidara's, and also acknowledging that if any of them could stand up to Itachi, it would be a sannin.

Sai leapt up onto a new ink bird and took off straight up, baiting Deidara to follow. As soon as they were out of sight the masked Akatsuki member rushed forward and clashed kunai with Kakashi. "And just so you know, I'm Tobi, nice to meet you."

Kakashi and Tobi continued to exchange taijutsu while Jiraiya and Yamato slowly advanced on their targets. While walking Yamato asked, "Think you can handle him?"

Jiraiya cracked his neck, and responded, "We'll find out."

* * *

Tsunade nodded. Jiraiya continued. "The fights didn't go very well for us three, and Sai was injured the worst. After it was obvious we we're losing, we pulled out and away. But Kakashi has something else to say about the battle. Out with it, the time to tell us is now."

Everyone was staring at him, he couldn't really back out of it now. "Well, it goes like this. That guy I fought, his name was Tobi, and he had something interesting to tell me."

* * *

A/N: oooooooooo Secrets! I know something you don't know! I know something you don't know! 


	46. Revealed

A/N: BOOOO!!! Wow another chapter after all this time, I must have startled someone. Ok enough of my humor, sorry for the wait. I was dealing with my first job, getting into college, family troubles, other peoples family troubles, and for a while I became the unofficial babysitter of a mouthy three year old and an attention starved 1 year old SIMULTANEOUSLY. I've been busy. And after all that time I sorta decided to just abandon this project. Feel free to throw stuff at me but just remember I'm just text on the screen so its really you who suffers. Anyway a while later my conscious has finally caught up with me (that guys out of shape) and we felt it wrong to deprive you of the ending to the ff after getting this deep in. Ergo, its ff time.

Since its been a while, a recap. Kakashi is revealing the details of his fight with Tobi, and the very important information he picked up during said fight. Here we go.

* * *

Chapter 46: revealed

'_What's with this guy?'_ Tobi was displaying no special abilities or traits. He wasn't even attacking with any advanced taijutsu. Tobi just flung out wildly and irresponsibly, even illogically. Kakashi wanted to believe that it was a ploy, a game to get him to drop his guard so Tobi could strike fatally. Kakashi tried at times to make it look like his guard was weak in order to draw out an attack, and each time Tobi didn't take the opportunity. Overall, the most unorthodox tactic was his insistent speaking.

Tobi was talking continuously while attacking. "You fought Deidara-sempai right?! You're the one that took off his arm right? You think he'll give me a reward if I can return the favor for him? Is that other guy he ran off to fight any good? I hope Deidara-sempai will be ok. What about that other guy that Kisame-sama is fighting? Is it true he can grow trees out of nothing? Wow I wish I could be watching the fight between the sannin and Itachi-sama. He's incredible you know, he actually beat Deidara-sempai once before from what I heard. Deidara-sempai didn't take it so well, that's why he started training himself to be able to fight through genjutsu, though in all honesty he should work on his close range combat. A few punches and he goes down pretty fast. And his exploding clay may be spectacular, but it's so easy to nullify with even the most basic lightning jutsu, being earth based and all."

Kakashi slipped when he heard his opponent say that. For the first time in their fight, Tobi actually connected a hit, right into Kakashi's left side with a kick. Afterwards Kakashi caught his balance and continued to dodge again. _'Did he honestly reveal his allies weakness to me? This makes no sense, could he really be that much of a fool or is there something more in the works here?'_

Tobi continued his useless onslaught of wild attacks and continued talking. "Watch it now, someone would think you weren't trying if I started beating you up so easily, you are trying your hardest to fight me aren't you?"

Being a veteran ninja, Kakashi knew code when he heard it. And yet he also couldn't believe it. _'Could there really be such an operative in Akatsuki? No, surely Jiraiya would have told us. Unless even Jiraiya doesn't know. Then who could have placed him there? What does this all mean?'_ Frustrated with having only an internal monologue, Kakashi felt it time to talk back to his odd adversary. "I admit, I am holding back a bit, it is normal strategy to discern an opponents abilities before you show him your best. Otherwise you may waste your time with worthless tricks."

Tobi laughed while attacking. "Oh no no no, That would be rude. I don't like trickery, I show what I am immediately. Like this!" Tobi quickly backed away and formed hand seals. Even with his sharingan active, they quick enough to be blurry, but he easily recognized an earth style tunneling jutsu. Tobi sank quickly into the ground, his laugh echoing as he dropped.

Kakashi quickly made his own hand signs and stabbed an extended index and ring finger from each hand into the ground. "Doton: Expulsion!" The ground around him churned, uprooting several nearby trees and launching a single log straight up. Attached to the log by kunai was a note that said "Gotcha!"

Kakashi quickly started to spin but before he could he felt a slight twinge in his back. After that he fell, unable to move any part of his body. Tobi landed in front of him and sat down on the ground. Tobi formed more hand signs and clapped his hands together. "Bringer of Darkness Jutsu." A dark shroud covered the area around Kakashi and Tobi. After that, Kakashi felt Tobi grabbing his immobilized hand, and specifically clasping his own fingers onto something metal. As Kakashi could also feel Tobi's hand, he reasoned it must be the ring their members wore. Using Kakashi's hand, Tobi removed the ring and let it fall to the ground. "You see Kakashi, our leader can read our surface thoughts through those rings, he usually doesn't when we're in fights, cuz our minds are so rampant, but if any of us try to remove our own rings, he knows. Since you removed it, he won't be aware unless he tries to find me, and then I can always say you took it during our fight, which is honest."

Kakashi tried to say something, but whatever was binding him even held his jaw shut, and the grunt he attempted was so muffled by the dirt and his mask it was barely audible even to him. Kakashi could hear Tobi's movements though, and distinctly heard Tobi sitting down in front of him.

Tobi cracked his neck and sighed. "Don't try to speak, you aren't able to. It's a very powerful genjutsu, which circulates into you through the special needle in your back. Without someone to remove the needle, it can't be broken. Sorry, to go this far, it would have been easier to have just kept fighting you, and slipped you the information like that, but you attempted to respond, that's far too suspicious, and Itachi saw you speaking. His eyes can read even through your mask, so I couldn't take the chance of you reacting."

Kakashi silently chastised himself for slipping up, just as Tobi had pointed out. But he was also incredibly curious to hear what this person had to say.

"First off, I did tell you Deidara's weakness, but that doesn't mean he should be taken lightly, he has a number of deadly abilities, when the time comes, make sure he fought far away from the village. As for Kisame, earth jutsu will cancel out his water techniques, but he is pathetic against genjutsu, hence his pairing with Itachi who can counter them all. Speaking of Itachi, I have no doubt that the Sannin will be able to hold his own, but honestly the only thing that can beat a sharingan master like him is to be a master of it yourself. You know who I'm talking about. Finally, the other three Akatsuki are Zetsu, the woman, and the leader. Zetsu mainly fights from afar or underground, and he can devour human flesh to recover his own wounds. Worse he can fight well against many types of genjutsu because he has two separate minds. I've never met with the woman or the leader, but it is the leader who can produce accurate copies of the rest of us, I don't doubt that he's as strong as Itachi. Be careful."

Kakashi memorized it all, such information was infinitely valuable. He wasn't prepared for what came next though.

"Your next concern is Orochimaru or Kabuto or whatever it is he's calling himself now. After Sasuke's stunt there was a major power gap in Otogakure. Now though Orochimaru has regained most of his former support. And what he has regained will soon be turned onto Konoha. Our leader already has the means and offer to recruit or force Orochimaru to do the attack. The primary target of the attack is the Kyuubi's jinchiuuriki. But of course, there will be no mercy on anything or anyone getting in the way. It will be war on the leaf village. In all honesty, the attack that took place during the chuunin exams four years ago was a skirmish in comparison. There is no set date yet, but it will happen in the next spring."

Tobi stood up and walked over to Kakashi. Kakashi could sense him kneel down near him. Tobi stopped moving and sighed. "I know you want to ask why I'm doing this, who I really am, Where I'm from. But these are questions that are best left unanswered. Know that I'm a friend of konoha, and of you, and that there is a reason I only have one eye. When I put on the ring I am going to beat you around, and in doing so I will "accidentally" knock loose the needle that keeps you immobile. At that point retaliate, and retreat with your friends when things start to look bad for them."

Kakashi braced himself mentally for the coming blow. It was a solid kick to hi side which launched him up off the ground. Tobi moved quickly enough to intercept his flight pattern with a punch across the face which knocked him down again. This beating continued for a few minutes, until another kick sent Kakashi sliding in such a way that his back scraped across something. The needle exited his body with a stinging pain and instantly Kakashi could control his body again. When he landed on what he sure was the ground he leapt up and out of the dark enclosure. With quick hand signs he sent a fireball down which ignited the entire area. In the corner of his sharingan eye he saw Tobi escaping the blast radius.

With but moments to spare Kakashi assessed his teammates situations. Jiraiya was fighting valiantly but was obviously fatiguing against a calm and statuesque Itachi. Yamato was fairing worse, with one large wound along his left arm that was easily identifiable as Samehada's work. Kakashi looked up, and at that moment a large number of explosions went off surrounding the black speck he had just locked onto. When the smoke cleared the black speck was plummeting down. Kakashi launched from a nearby branch and caught Sai. Right as he landed Tobi appeared near him and attacked him with a kunai. Kakashi jumped away only to be met midway by one of Deidara's birds which detonated and sent Kakashi downward. He landed on his feet and in no small amount of pain. Kakashi Yelled out "Retreat! We can't win like this!"

Deidara had descended into the trees. "Like hell you're retreating, You owe me an arm Kakashi!" Quite suddenly a tree branch stabbed through Deidara's bird, launching him off of it from his momentum. He caught himself with another bird and turned just in time to see Yamato leaping away from the pursuing Kisame. Jiraiya was also running from Itachi, though doing so was a difficult.

Tobi showed up from his hiding spot running after Kakashi. The konoha-nin were using all their remaining chakra to run as fast as possible. The Akatsuki, fatigued as they were from the fighting held back, with the exception of Tobi. "DAMN! They're getting away!!!"

Now fleeing, Kakashi examined Sai, it was bad. He heard one of the others mention treating Sai. "We don't have time, he's hurt bad."

Jiraiya was obviously disappointed. "That's it, this mission is a failure, we have no choice but to return."

Yamato nodded. "Your right, this is too serious, we can't treat him, and local villages won't have the resources. Let's get moving."

"Hang on Sai."

* * *

A/N: well It's good to be back. And from the information revealed in that chapter, I think you see where this story is going to end. Yet even if you know where the end is, you may have no idea what it will look like when you get there. I aim to have the entire story finished before September. Giving me just over a month to get it all up. Also note, there will be some more lemony content, and the next chapter will have a small very nonspecific lemony scene. 


	47. Lessons

A/N: Looks like I got my momentum going on. By the way, IMPORTANT NOTE: As I'm sure you should all know simply because of the name of this sight, but anything in this fan fiction is completely non-cannon, and only reflects my interpretation of the original material spun to fit my storyline. In that string, I felt it would be good to treat you all to the disclaimer 2.0

_DISCLAIMER 2.0: I do not, nor ever will, own/create/produce/profit from anything having to do with the Naruto franchise including manga, anime, or other products in any way from now until the end of my life. The following is complete BS I wrote for fun, and should be read for the same reason._

Reviews:

Rasengan: Maybe. In all honesty I don't like Sai much either, but I can't just kill him outright cuz that would be asinine. I'll see what I can do.

Fullmetal Inuyasha of Konoha: First off I love your screen name and all the things it represents. Second, thank you.

Sirius: This quick enough?

* * *

Chapter 47: Lessons

Naruto and Hinata were currently entwined with each other, exhausted from their recently finished love making. It had been two weeks since they heard the information from Kakashi about the impending invasion. In that time Hinata and Naruto had become more and more vigorous at night, neither could get enough. And each of those times Naruto went without protection. For a few nights after the first time he still made the token effort of attempting, but his or Hinata's bodies simply wouldn't wait anymore, and so they just went bare.

But Naruto wasn't worrying about condoms right then. Naruto had a lot on his mind at the moment, and didn't slip into sleep right away. Hinata however was fast asleep against his chest, facing the other way and breathing steadily. He looked down at the mat of hair in front of him and breathed into it, watching the individual strands flow from he wind and glint in the dim light. Hinata's breath shortened suddenly and Naruto relaxed his embrace, which had been tightening.

The next morning Hinata made breakfast as always. Naruto was at the table much earlier though, and his face was grim. Hinata shied away from his gaze, focusing on the food. When she turned around and placed the plates on the table Naruto startled her by saying her name. "Hinata-chan. About, the war…" This is what the impending attack had come to be known as by those who were informed of it. Tsunade had seen fit to reveal the intelligence only to the people she most closely trusted, with the explicit instructions to keep it top secret. She had also advised them not to talk about it **ever**. The fact that Naruto was doing just that brought Hinata to a stop. "… You know I'm going to fight right?"

Hinata sat down at the table. "Of course Naruto-kun…" And Hinata choked on the next part at first, but she was determined to say it anyway. "And I'll…"

"Hinata, I don't want you to." Naruto couldn't look at her as he said this so he stared into his eggs. Even so his peripheral vision told him that Hinata was shaking. "It's not that I don't think you can do it, it's just, It's going to be dangerous, and no wait I mean…After the hospital and…when you almost…I don't want to see you like that ever again."

One side of Hinata's mind was touched that he cared for her so much, that her safety meant something to him. The other side was in pain. She had thought Naruto would always believe in her, that he would always support her. And yet here he was, doubting her. She understood his sincerity, his wisdom even. But she couldn't help but be hurt.

Naruto watched as Hinata stood up and walked out of the room, and from the sound of the door out of the apartment itself. Naruto had been thoroughly rooted to his chair by surprise.

* * *

Kurenai was completely shocked. Sakura was mastering advanced Genjutsu techniques extremely quickly now, mowing through every lesson Kurenai had to teach. When Kurenai asked her how she could do so well, Sakura simply stated "Exactly like you told me too." To Kurenai it made almost no sense whatsoever. Sakura had struggled with the basics, requiring them to spend erroneous amounts of time learning to concentrate properly, transfer chakra through senses, even creating appropriate scenarios. Almost as soon as she finally did learn these basic steps, she suddenly took off, absorbing lesson after lesson like they were nothing.

Now though Kurenai began to get some picture of how it came to be like that. The way she saw it, Sakura could photographically memorize things fairly easily, and she could also copy and repeat internal processes as easily. Learning the basics was difficult because they were new to Sakura. Advanced techniques however were little more then extremely complicated adaptations and applications of those basic lessons, with only the occasional new addition. Most people had trouble mixing the basic lessons together and in the proper ways to get those advanced results. Sakura however could repeat any and all of the basics precisely and simultaneously as needed. Sakura was quickly mastering every technique presented to her, much faster then Kurenai had previously. As Kurenai saw it now, the only thing slowing Sakura down was Kurenai's pregnancy, which was becoming more and more of a burden.

Sakura heard a grunt from her sensei. "Kurenai-sensei are you okay?"

Kurenai had been gripping her gut, which was churning from one of the baby's more vigorous kicks. "I'm fine Sakura but the mice are getting a…" She cut herself off. She had instinctively scolded Sakura for breaking the genjutsu and allowing the mice to go free, and yet this was not the case. Sakura had managed to turn away and speak without the mice breaking free at all. "Sakura, when did you learn to maintain it without full concentration?"

Sakura smiled. She relished the opportunity to gloat. "I guess I just figured it out." Her pride was deterred when she saw the contemplative look on her sensei's face. "What is it?"

Kurenai shook her head. "Nothing, it just takes an enormous aptitude for multi-tasking. We need to get you some people to practice on." She said the last part with a smile and Sakura's smile was brought back as well.

* * *

"Kakashi. No more avoiding me. How did you get that Mangekyo Sharingan?" Sasuke found Kakashi sitting on a branch reading a book entitled "Icha Icha Adventure".

Kakashi looked up over the book and sighed. "You are late Sasuke, about two weeks late to be precise. If you have to emulate me the least you can get right is that you give your reasons for being tardy before you start making demands." After saying this Kakashi's eyes wandered down to his book. A thud in the tree near him didn't even garner a cursory glance from him.

Sasuke had shoved his katana into the tree right by Kakashi's head, but his old teacher didn't even flinch. "No games, no jokes, and if you keep reading that book I will shred it and burn it right from your hands. I want an explanation."

Kakashi closed that book, holding back his fear that Sasuke would follow through on his threat. "Though you've never been one for manners, I'd at least hoped to hear a please from you. Oh well, even if you insist on being petulant, I will tell you the secret of acquiring the mangekyo sharingan." Kakashi wasn't sure what exactly the look on Sasuke's face was supposed to portray, or how he was supposed to react. Either way, Sasuke had a right to this knowledge.

* * *

Naruto wallowed few minutes and finally devoured his eggs. After that he left his apartment at top speed to search for Hinata. First he checked Ichiraku's, then the alleyway where team ten usually hung out, then the training grounds they preferred. While at the last location he found the training apparatus she had been using sometime ago, though she had learned the control method since then. Naruto's trained senses alerted him to another presence. Naruto spun to face the other person.

Neji stared at Naruto standing in front of him. "I don't what you did Naruto but it must have been a colossal failure, even by your low standards."

Naruto tensed up. "I don't what you're talking about."

Neji exhaled dismissively. "I can tell you where Hinata is." That got Naruto's attention. "But why should I?"

Naruto was taken back by that comment. "What do you mean? You tell me where she is right now! I need to talk to her or something."

Neji replied quickly and curtly. "You are a fool Naruto. Do you even know what Hinata wants?" Naruto's voice escaped him. "Of course you don't, not even Hinata does."

Naruto thought about that. "Then I want to try and help her."

Neji's face became slightly more stressed. "Hinata is confused and afraid; she needs some time to work things out without you making them worse."

Naruto couldn't contain his anger anymore. "I'd rather be there to support her."

"Like you supported her earlier?"

Naruto finally realized something. "How do you know about what happened earlier?"

Neji shook his head. "Who do you think told me? Hinata came to the Hyuga estate after she left your apartment. There she met with me and Hanabi. We talked, and I came here to help you understand Hinata."

Naruto was confused, but he didn't care, he knew where to go now. His attempt to move was blocked by Neji. "Get out of my way."

Neji took his stance knocked Naruto back with his chakra. "Not until you listen. What is it you proved to me the day we fought? Do you still remember that?"

Naruto stood back up. "Of course. People can change. Me…you…"

"Hinata?"

"Of course!"

"Then why don't you think she's strong enough to fight?!"

"I'm just worried for her that's all!"

"So you asked her not to fight. I seem to recall someone telling her not to fight once before."

Naruto reached back into his mind and found that day. Shortly after the memory surfaced he slapped himself in the head. "I guess I should apologize."

Neji smiled. "Maybe. But maybe she understands more then we think. Don't worry though; she has too much devotion to you for something like this to shatter it."

Naruto ran off. "Thanks Neji."

* * *

"First tell me this, Sasuke, how do you believe a person should normally go about gaining such a powerful technique?"

Sasuke visibly stiffened, which was all the more miraculous considering Sasuke's usual demeanor. "According to him, you must kill your closest friend."

Kakashi cringed. "Horrible. I suppose he completed that task when he exterminated your clan?"

Sasuke saw the old memories coming back while he thought about this. "No, some time before that actually."

Kakashi nodded. "I see. I suppose we should get right to the point of how I gained it. It's actually quite simple really. He used Tsukiyomi, a mangekyo sharingan technique against me while I had my sharingan active. Later, I was able to recall everything about how it happened, and gained the ability to bring about the mangekyo sharingan myself. I'm not called the copy ninja for nothing I guess."

Sasuke couldn't accept such a simplistic and obvious answer. "That's impossible. It couldn't be that easy."

"Oh? Then explain this." Kakashi's sharingan eye which he had revealed suddenly warped, the tomoe fusing together into a more fluidly circular and spiraled shape.

Sasuke knew it was a mangekyo sharingan. If Kakashi was certain that was the method by which it could be gained, then there was only one real end to this day's events. Sasuke activated his own sharingan. "Then do it."

Kakashi deactivated his mangekyo and covered up his eye. "That's just it Sasuke, I gained it through Tsukiyomi, the jutsu that Itachi used on me. However, I did not inherently know how to perform Tsukiyomi myself. My attempts to use the jutsu have been marked by failure. The one technique I have developed with the mangekyo takes a massive amount of chakra and would likely be fatal."

Sasuke was getting impatient. "So how will you teach it to me?"

"First, you will tell me where Itachi learned those techniques himself. I know you know." Kakashi put forth an air of forcefulness. This was not a request, it was a demand.

Sasuke clenched his fist. "Alright then. But a warning, it may disturb you."

* * *

Sakura was at last being challenged, and the best part was that all Kurenai had to do was sit and watch. She had set up a training mission for Sakura to get some battle experience with Genjutsu. The mission stated that Sakura was being hunted by two ninja of an opposing squad. She had to disable them quickly and quietly without killing them, and then gather information on where the rest of the enemy squad was located. Sakura's inexperience with such a task was an initial blocker, but she quickly began to develop strategies for how she could do it successfully.

Unfortunately Kurenai had withheld information about who her opponents would be, instructing Sakura to think on her feet against a surprise enemy. To Sakura's dismay, her opponents were Kiba and Shino. Normally formidable in regular combat, these two in particular were somewhat more effective against Genjutsu due to their respective animal companions. Kurenai felt a pang of guilt in picking such difficult opponents, but she was more interested in how Sakura would perform under such stress.

Kurenai could be proud; Sakura had tried to retaliate with genjutsu four times now, both times to be thwarted only barely by a surprise move from the insects or Akamaru. Despite these setbacks, Sakura had not required a break in the 3 hours the fake mission had been going on. Quite suddenly Shino leapt from the trees and hailed her. "So how's it going?"

Shino nodded. "Fifth attempt, she managed to bind both Kiba and Akamaru, and then put Akamaru into a deep sleep. I interrupted before she could do the same to Kiba, however I was quickly absorbed in the same binding as Kiba, and he was knocked out as well. I sent out my insects which were not bound, and they managed to reach her, but it was just a clone. She had been hidden above us the entire time."

Kurenai contemplated this. "So she won?!"

Shino was suddenly surrounded by smoke and was revealed to be Sakura. "Yep!" She was smiling widely. "After that I tied them up and woke up Kiba to interview him."

Kurenai was impressed and was showing it on her face, but she snapped herself out of it and remembered her job as teacher. "Five tries is too many, had Kiba and Shino really been enemies you would have been killed far earlier."

Sakura was a little hurt at first, but quickly got over it and remembered why she was here. "Right. I'll go wake them up and we can try again."

* * *

"So your clan had a meeting place hidden right underneath this temple." Kakashi looked around the interior of the Nakano shrine.

"Yes." Sasuke lifted up one of the floor mats, revealing the tunnel beneath it. "Kakashi, what do you know of Madara Uchiha?"

Kakashi grabbed his chin. "Doesn't sound familiar."

Sasuke continued down into the tunnel and Kakashi followed. At the bottom was a single room, with two glowing braziers. The side walls bore murals of mysterious images, and the wall in front of him was adorned with a scroll, beneath which was even more writing. Sasuke walked up to the scrolls and looked down on them before turning to face Kakashi. "Here lies a record written by Madara Uchiha generations ago detailing the full extent of the Sharingan's powers and uses, as well as the origin of these eyes as well."

Kakashi considered this. "The origin?"

Sasuke smirked. "I can only imagine the rage my clansmen would unleash if they were alive to see you standing here, but even I will unleash my own if you decide to make that secret public. But I cannot stop you from finding out now. The source of these eyes, the first sharingan was given to Madara by a demon. And that demon's name was Kyuubi no Yoko."

Kakashi's visible eye went wide with shock. "What? What do you mean?"

Sasuke turned to see his teachers face. "It is exactly as I have said. The reasons are hazy, but I do know the source of the Sharingan was the Kyuubi."

Kakashi shook his head. "I thought the sharingan was an offset of the Hyuga clan's byakugan?"

Sasuke let out a small laugh and turned back to the scroll. "No, in fact according to this record, the Sharingan dates back long before the first Byakugan users. A dispute led to the two clans forming against each other, and heralding their trait as the "true" pupil condition. Years later the rivalry was forgotten, as was the source of both abilities. Even this room was forgotten by all but a few members of the Uchiha clan. How would they have been viewed if it became known the clan's roots were in a demon? So the secret was held. Enough history. Here they are, the instructions on the three forms of Mangekyo Sharingan. Tsukiyomi, Ameterasu, and Susanoo. If your method of learning the Mangekyo is accurate, then by learning Tsukiyomi you can pass it to me. Do it."

Kakashi was amazed. Sasuke had just revealed such an amazing wealth of lost knowledge and yet still all he cared about was gaining the power to face his brother. There was no argument to be made, and Kakashi had sworn to tell not a soul about what was in this place. He walked forward and began to study the instructions. Simultaneously he pulled back memories from his own experience against Tsukiyomi.

While Kakashi read, Sasuke suddenly interrupted. "Why are you helping me Kakashi? I thought you were against my quest of revenge?"

Kakashi sighed. "For the same reason I taught you Chidori. I am completely convinced that when the time comes you will regret your thoughts of revenge, and realize what truly matters. Take Sakura for instance. Which is more important to you, Sakura or fratricide?"

Sasuke's face tightened. "Get back to reading." Kakashi turned away and did as he was told without a word.

* * *

"Hey Hinata."

Hinata sat straight up and turned to the window. Naruto was sitting in it, looking at her. She turned away and lay back down on her bed.

Naruto put a foot into the room and didn't meet any immediate resistance. "Hinata I'm…"

The door to the room suddenly flung open and a young girl entered holding a glass of water. She saw Naruto and her face became more active. "You leave! You're the one who hurt Hinata's feelings!" She placed the glass down and ran over to attack Naruto. Naruto could tell she was a Hyuga, but the girl didn't activate her byakugan or use any gentle fist techniques. Instead she just started slapping Naruto barehanded. It stung, and the last thing Naruto wanted to do was retaliate against one of Hinata's family members so he decided the best thing to do was just take it silently.

Hinata could hear the slaps, and after they continued for a while she decided to look. Hanabi was slapping Naruto back and forth, but Naruto didn't even try to defend himself. She couldn't take it, so she stood up and grabbed Hanabi's raised hand. She kneeled next to her sister and said "That's enough Hanabi, please, could you leave me and Naruto alone?" Hanabi walked away quickly and slid the door shut behind her as she left. Hinata used her byakugan to check, and Hanabi wasn't listening. She then turned to look at Naruto, who was already staring at her.

Naruto waited to see if Hinata would say something, but she didn't. Finally he just blurted it out. "I was a jerk and I'm sorry!" Naruto blinked and in that time Hinata had fallen on top of him and was hugging him with her head over his shoulder. He tentatively held her back. "Hinata-chan, do you forgive me?"

Hinata shook her head into Naruto's shoulder, and he stiffened up. "You didn't do anything wrong. You were just worried about me. I'm scared too Naruto, I panicked and I ran. It wasn't your fault."

Naruto felt relived, so he squeezed her harder. "Hinata, I never want to see you injured again." He pushed her away so he could see her face. "So were gonna train until you can beat two akatsuki at the same time!" He was grinning broadly at her.

Hinata also smiled. Her smile evaporated when the door opened again. She turned to see who it was and to her terror it was her father. Hinata's mouth went dry and her throat clenched. Naruto stepped forward next to her and bowed. "Hiashi-sama, I'm sorry for intruding, Hinata was coming back for some things she forgot, and I accompanied her." It was the sternest and most solemn voice she had ever heard from Naruto.

Hiashi looked around. "I see. Do what you need." He left the room and closed the door behind him.

Hinata finally exhaled, and she noticed Naruto did the same. He turned to her and said. "Can we leave now?"

Hinata nodded and let Naruto pull her out of her old home by her wrist.

* * *

A/N: Well everybody is learning stuff left and right aren't they? 


	48. Gathering

A/N: I think I mentioned this in an earlier chapter but that was so long ago who the hell remembers it so I'm gonna say it again. For the purposes of this story I have advances the ages of most characters by about two years. If you feel a need to ask how I did that I will direct you to my friend the AU clause which basically frees me from all liability born of anything I decide to change to make this story. As for why? 15 is a little young to be moved in and having regular sex with someone. 17 is much more acceptable.

Also I'm introducing an oc that won't try to kill someone!!!! I tried to avoid the Mary Sue condition without making her an evil heartless hag, so she falls somewhere in between there.

Reviews:

Avatar: thanks, I like this theory; it's so simple and clean with no major plot hinges that make it into a 6 chapter long story arc. However for those same reasons I don't think it's the real thing in the real Naruto. I mean come one, this is manga we're talking about. And text doesn't really carry the tone of his voice over. It was very sincere.

Eriz: Yes, I did make up the third, though honestly I wouldn't be surprised if that is another mangekyo jutsu for real. Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu are named for Shinto goddesses who were both born of another god at the same time, at the same time their brother, Susanoo was born. Considering the naming of those two techniques it seemed to fit that this would be a third. But yeah other then that it's pure BS.

BlackHaze: That hurts man, I said I'd get this tuff up fast and I intend to. This ones a little late cuz I was turning in applications earlier today. I'm still remaining set to my aforementioned schedule; I will be done before September.

* * *

Chapter 48: Gathering

Orochimaru was angry. Everyone knew that meant stay away. So far in all the time since his previous defeat at the hands of Naruto he had found no one who would come even close to fulfilling the position of his new body. Suigetsu had escaped from his special container and fled the base. Jugo had killed four ninja when they were attempting to get a new blood sample. Basically everything that could go wrong in Otogakure was, and Orochimaru was just about fed up with it all.

Karin had to ignore all of that and deliver her report to her master, no matter what. She approached the door and started tracking the chakra sources from the inside of the room. Orochimaru's distinctive chakra emanation was in close proximity to someone else's. Karin chose to wait until she understood what was going on. Moments later the second chakra source flew through the door, smashing into the hallway wall opposite and right in front of Karin. Orochimaru followed out snarling unpleasantly. She had her chance. "Orochimaru-sama. I have an important piece of news for you."

The sannin turned to face his underling. "Speak."

Karin exhaled deeply. She wasn't dead yet. "Sir we have reports that indicate a member of akatsuki is coming here."

Orochimaru reached out and grabbed Karin at the throat. "WHAT!! Why wasn't I informed of this earlier?!?!"

Despite being choked Karin managed to sputter out "the...repor…came…in…jus…now…"

Orochimaru dropped her and took only a few steps away before suddenly turning on her again. His limb extended out too quickly for her to dodge, but much to Karin's relief the arm did nothing but push her to the side creating room for Orochimaru's other arm to stretch past her and attack the intruder. The intruder didn't simply deflect Orochimaru's arm, he pinned it into the solid stone wall with a kunai. The movement had been so fast Karin hadn't seen any of it. Orochimaru writhed in slight pain before addressing his guest. "Damn you Itachi, why are you here?"

Karin examined the enemy with more scrutiny. Short black hair, focused unfettered gaze with sharingan eyes, and an air of mixed indifference and bloodlust. In many ways he was just like the Sasuke she remembered. _'So this is Sasuke's brother. They're so similar. Even the look of their chakra almost matches.'_

Itachi face, being obscured by his collar, didn't even seem to move as he spoke. "Orochimaru. Pein has a favor to ask."

The name was still enough to send shivers down Orochimaru's spine. "And your being his messenger boy?"

Itachi reached up and twisted the kunai in Orochimaru's arm. "You shouldn't be so indignant. We are offering you a reward."

Orochimaru gritted his teeth to ignore the pain in his arm. "What, a plot of land in the new world order? I'm not interested; I made that clear when I left."

Itachi pulled his kunai out of the wall, allowing Orochimaru to pull his arm back. "The prize will be my brother." That sparked Orochimaru's curiosity. "For possession or revenge or any other whims you could exercise against him."

Orochimaru smiled.

* * *

"Well, I'm here." Kakashi was looking at his surroundings. Everything was dark, and the sky was red. The frog he had used the jutsu on was hopping around aimlessly. "Sorry about this, but I've got to know if this works." Kakashi simply thought of it, and quite suddenly the frog was suspended in the air by several chains that wrapped around its body. The chains began to tighten until Kakashi was sure of himself, and then they let the frog go. As soon as the frog was on the ground it hopped away, only to seemingly loop through space and run through the same area nearby Kakashi over and over again. "Alright, I'm done here."

Sasuke watched the process intently through his sharingan eyes. But as far as he could tell, neither Kakashi nor the frog moved. Then the frog simply fell unconscious and Kakashi relaxed slightly. "Did it work?"

Kakashi nodded. "No time to waste then, and I only have enough chakra to do this one more time right now." He stared at Sasuke's sharingan eyes. "Try to resist some; I was when I obtained it." Kakashi gave him time to prepare mentally and then they were there again.

Sasuke looked around. There was a single moment when he couldn't control his panic and a single bead of sweat formed on his brow. It passed when he realized he was standing in an illusionary recreation of where they had just been standing. He could still see Kakashi right where he had just been standing. "So, I should have it now correct?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, though it will require some work, and we have another problem. I'm not going to torture you, but you may still end up in a coma like the frog."

Sasuke waved this off. "We already went over this, it's an acceptable risk. Now let's get out of here."

Back in the real world they both stumbled, Kakashi due to extreme chakra depletion, and Sasuke due to stress on his mind. Despite this, he slowly got up and shrugged it off and stood up straight. Kakashi also stood up, but was hunched slightly from a lack of energy. "Well?"

Sasuke didn't respond, and his face was tilted downward with his eyes closed. He slowly straightened up and opened his eyes. It wasn't like Itachi's or Kakashi's, but the shape was unmistakable. He had the mangekyo sharingan.

Kakashi was locked looking at Sasuke's new eyes. _'There, you have it Sasuke; I just hope you know how to use it properly.'_ Kakashi stretched and cracked his knuckles. "Well, you don't need me anymore."

Before Kakashi could leave he heard something he had never expected. "Thank you, Kakashi."

* * *

Sakura was quickly getting even better wit her genjutsu, and had proven able to hold multiple targets with binding genjutsu while still maintaining enough chakra control to punch through a tree. Her later attempts against the team eight guys were leading to quicker and quicker victories on her part. At least until Kurenai dropped a bomb on her. "Well since you're doing so well Sakura why don't we make things more lifelike? Shino, Kiba, you know what to do."

Sakura looked at her students confused. Shino just adjusted his glasses, but Kiba was more then happy to gloat. "Oh come one Sakura, our sensei is one of the greatest Genjutsu masters in Konoha. Do you honestly think her students would have gotten anywhere without knowing how to release genjutsu?"

Sakura had one very profound moment of shock, but followed it up well by saying "Alright, I can still do this!"

* * *

Hinata was training with Neji within the Hyuga compound, with her father's permission. More amazing then that however was that Naruto was watching from atop the complex, looking into the training yard. Hanabi was also watching, ostensibly to learn from Neji's example, but also to see her older sister. Hinata tripped and fell suddenly, after taking a hit to the gut. Naruto prepared to jump down but stopped himself when he saw her quickly righting herself and continuing the sparring match. He relaxed, and was very suddenly flooded with a large amount of information and became significantly more tired.

Quite a ways away at one of the training ground several hundred Naruto clones were busy at work attempting every conceivable method of negating the eye contact requirement of the leaping thunder god jutsu. Currently they had had no success. Every hour all but one clone would dissipate, and the remaining one would recreate the clones to begin the process anew.

But it was the real Naruto watching Hinata take a beating from Neji in order to prove that she was getting stronger.

* * *

All three trained for another week, right on into October.

* * *

On this morning something different was laid out. Hinata got up quickly, put a microwave ramen cup on the table and attached a note to it. She then quickly left the apartment and began leaping away.

Naruto woke up and wandered into the kitchen, but Hinata wasn't there. He called out for her and she didn't respond. So he searched all around the apartment before returning to the kitchen when he finally saw the note. It said. "Naruto, Neji and father are teaching me secret techniques today, so please don't come to watch. I want to eat dinner with you at Ichiraku's at six. Happy birthday. Hinata."

As soon as he read the last part he slapped himself on the head. "I can't believe I forgot it was my birthday!" He looked back down at the note and sighed. "Well she's training, I just can't fall behind." He heated up his food and slurped it down with a glass of milk. After he was done and had cleaned up he leapt out the window and started heading toward the training ground.

Shino watched Naruto jumping away; making sure the scent bug was in place. Once he had confirmation from his own bugs, he leapt down and met with his teammates. "He's going towards the training grounds, like you thought he would Hinata."

She smiled and nodded. "Okay. Let's go get Sakura and then we can see about Shikamaru's team." Team eight leapt away and speedily traversed the roof tops of Konoha to Sakura's house.

* * *

Sakura saw them land and greeted them. "Hi Kiba, Shino, Hinata, where's Naruto?"

Kiba snickered much to Hinata's embarrassment, though she had finally learned how to control her blushing. She shook Kiba's action off and asked "Sakura, do you know what day it is?"

Sakura put her fist to her chin. _'It's the tenth, lemme see so that means it's health sports day…hmmm…!!!!!!!!!'_ "OH! It's Naruto's birthday today isn't it?!"

Hinata nodded. "We were hoping we could get your help setting up a surprise party."

Sakura ignored Kiba muttering something about Hinata's use of "we" and said "Of course! So what were you thinking of doing?"

Hinata and Sakura simply took off with party ideas while Shino and Kiba looked on. Eventually Kiba couldn't just watch, so he turned to Shino. "How long do you think they'll talk like that?"

Shino thought about it. "Until Sasuke comes out."

Kiba scratched his head. "What makes you so sure he's still in there?" Akamaru barked once, which Kiba immediately understood as "he is." So Kiba looked at Shino again. "Okay so when do you think that will be?"

Shino simply stood silently for a few seconds. "Now."

Almost right as he finished saying it Sasuke appeared in the doorway, halted when he realized there were visitors. "What's going on?"

Sakura and Hinata stopped talking and looked at Sasuke. Sakura walked up closer to him and said. "Sasuke it's Naruto's birthday and we're going to throw him a party!" She was smiling exuberantly at him.

Sasuke took one quick look at each of the patrons currently gathered. "I'll be busy."

Sakura was disheartened for a moment, but perked up as he started to walk away. "Well, stop by if you can, we're doing it at his apartment, you know where that is right?"

Sasuke didn't turn to look as he said "Maybe." And then he was gone.

Kiba sneered at where Sasuke had been standing. "What a jerk."

* * *

"Chouji I'm not real sure about her."

"What's wrong with her?"

"She's trouble"

"You say that about all women."

"No I don't."

"You said that about your mom yesterday."

"No, I said she's troublesome, which she is. Just like Ino, and just like some other women…"

"Temari…"

"Yes, see, troublesome. But Kuchina over there is just trouble."

"What's so bad about her?"

"I honestly have to answer that?"

The two were broken out of their private conversation by the arrival of Ino and Kuchina, Chouji's girlfriend. She was the same age as the rest of them, but fairly short coming up only to Chouji's shoulders. She had light brown hair that was cut short. Her face was pretty, with a nice sized smile and hazel eyes which matched her hair. She dressed in normal clothing for a villager, which was normal for her as she was not a ninja. As the two women approached the guys Kuchina called to them using her nicknames for them. "Pineapple! Sumo! Hey guys!!"

Shikamaru cringed, absolutely despising her nickname for him. Still he forced a smile and greeted them. "Ino, Kuchina." He took a long drag from his cigarette ignoring Kuchina's predictable response. Every time he was smoking around her she would fake a hysterical coughing attack, which Chouji in all his softness would buy right into making it two against one for his habit. After the first four times when he figured out it was an act, he just stopped acknowledging the trick, and since then, it would only take about twelve coughs until Chouji would reach up and rip the cigarette out of Shikamaru's mouth and pound it into the ground.

After Chouji was done grinding his heel on top of the cigarette he patted Kuchina on the back and asked her if she was okay, which she affirmed accompanied with big puppy dog eyes. Even Ino gagged silently at the lovey dovey display of gullibility on Chouji's part. She sighed her disgust out and turned to Shikamaru. "So did you handle that mission issue?"

Shikamaru was still staring at the only half smoked cigarette on the ground, but his attention span was wide enough to answer her question. "No, they said they'd get back to us on that so I figure we'll have to persuade them farther." Shikamaru didn't even mind when Chouji broke the kiss he had been in the middle of to give a dirty look at his teammates.

Kuchina looked up at Chouji. "What's wrong Sumo-kun?"

Chouji turned back towards her. "Nothing it's just all the paperwork and people we have to go through with some missions really get me down sometimes." He smiled and lifted her up by her waist, swinging her around a bit. Making her giggle and laugh loudly. After he put her down he kissed her again. "So where did you and Ino go?"

"Piggy-chan showed me where she buys some of her clothing. None of it was really practical." Kuchina said this in a disappointed manner.

Ino gritted her teeth at the way Kuchina addressed her, and retaliated by saying "I don't know. I find the outfits very practical. They have stuff for stealth, or some new armor that's like a cloth that will block sharp weapons fairly well. In fact the stuff they sell can be life saving _for a ninja._"

Kuchina didn't really like it when Ino played the "ninja card", but she always had a surefire way to get out of it. She turned to Chouji. "Sumo-kun she's doing it again."

He immediately turned to Ino. "Now Ino that stuffs all well and fine for the battlefield but I thought you were going to go look at something you could both use?"

Ino crossed her arms. "Believe me pretty soon she might need some clothing that can deflect kunai."

Chouji got mad. "Ino…" He saw Shikamaru snickering in the corner of his eye. "That's it both of you, what is it you don't like about Kuchina?"

Shikamaru looked away but Ino looked right at her, and then at Chouji. "Well, _sumo-kun,_ she's kind of a m…"

"There you guys are!" Kiba flew in riding on Akamaru, interrupting Ino's statement. "We've been looking all over the place for you guys. Don't any of you know what today is?" They all thought. They all drew blanks. Kiba and Akamaru growled lowly at them. "It's Naruto's birthday. Hinata and Sakura are setting up the party right now, so let's get moving."

"Who's Naruto?"

Even Chouji couldn't help but look at her. He then laughed it off a bit. "Naruto's a friend of mine, a real funny guy. I completely forgot his birthday was today. Kuchina you should come to the party with me!"

She put on her shy face. "I'm not sure; wouldn't I be the only civilian there?"

Chouji put a hand on her shoulder. "It's no problem, I'll protect you!" He watched her to make sure she understood it was a joke and she did smile. "And it will be a great party I'm sure."

She was shy for a few more seconds, and then she smiled cutely. "Well, I guess I could, but I'll have to tell my mom so I can have the night off."

Chouji was happy to here it. "Great, I'll take you there. We'll be at the party to help out after we're done."

Kiba nodded. "Right, it will be at Naruto's apartment. Ino, Shikamaru, you coming?"

They nodded and the three were off.

* * *

"Tenten, Lee." The two looked up and saw Shino in a tree above their training area.

Lee was the first to say respond. "Huh? Shino? What is it? A MISSION!! AN ASSIGNMENT!!! A TASK!!!!! OW!!!!!!!"

Tenten had just dropped an iron rod on Lee's head. "Honestly Lee calm down and he might be able to tell us. Shino?"

"It is Naruto's birthday. There is a party at his home. Hinata would like you to come."

Lee shot up once more ignoring the welt on his head. "OF COURSE WE WILL ATTEND AND I WILL SHOW NARUTO MY NEWEST OW!!!!!!!"

A second iron rod had slammed into Lee's head. "You are not going to destroy Naruto's home with some new mega power of youth explosion extraordinaire! But we will be there Shino thank you for telling us."

Shino nodded.

* * *

Hinata had been tracking the collection of guests with her Byakugan from a central position in Konoha, and it looked like everybody had been informed, it was now time to get the last person.

She leapt down outside her old home and walked through the gates. Through the gardens, then along the buildings until she reached the training area. She already knew a match was under way from the sounds of combat, so when she reached the edge she sat silently. It was Neji training against her father. The way they both moved was amazing and awe inspiring to Hinata. But she noticed that Neji's movements in particular were much faster then she was familiar with. She stored this fact for later and just watched the two continue the fight.

Very suddenly Neji was pinned with Hiashi's fingers pointing at his heart. It was a sign of defeat. They stepped away from each other and bowed, and then they turned to Hinata. Se stood and bowed to both of them, but more to her father then anything. "Hello, father, Neji-san."

"Hello Hinata, I trust you are here for a reason?" It was Hiashi who said this, though his voice was free of malice.

Hinata nodded and looked at Neji. "It is Naruto's birthday Neji, we we're hoping you could attend the celebration."

Neji turned to Hiashi and waited. "You may if you choose, you're improvement has been excellent, a single day can't harm you."

Neji bowed in respect. "Thank you, Hiashi-sama"

Hinata and Neji left following this, and began to make their way to Naruto's home.

* * *

A/N: Next chapter: The party. 


	49. Party Crasher

A/N: After this chapter time will begin moving a lot faster to get into the springtime, and we all know what that is.

Reviews: ZOMG 4!! HES MAD I TELL YOU MAD!!!!

Dude: That was them being drunk, and so far Ino hasn't shown any sign of remembering it has she?

Imsuck: The leaping TGJ is something I made up which is basically a very pathetic version of the flying TGJ. Rather then go ANYWHERE like the flying, the leaping only allows you to get to formulas you can see. Naruto's working on upgrading it to full fledged flying TGJ.

Black: Sorry I came off wrong, I just like messing with my readers.

Dycho: I'm flattered. As for a naruhina baby, they don't have anything in the works like that yet. But there's never anyway to tell what will happen with those kinds of situations. Unless you know you're the person making the entire thing up. Like me!

* * *

Chapter 49: Party Crasher

Naruto arrived at Ichiraku's right on time to meet up with Hinata. And she didn't appear to be there. He looked around outside before ducking his head inside the both to look around for her. When the owner noticed him he waved to Naruto and beckoned him over. "Hey there Naruto. I'm glad you stopped by, I was supposed to give you this." He took a note out of his pocket and handed it to Naruto.

Naruto took it flipped it upright and started reading. "Naruto, please come home right now. Hinata." He flipped it over and looked for any other information, but there was nothing. Naruto turned back to the old man and asked "Did she say anything else when she gave this too you?"

The old man thought. "No, she just ran up and said 'when you see Naruto please give this to him.' and ran off. Oh wait she mentioned someone's birthday."

Naruto smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah that's me."

The old man shot up. "Well why didn't you say so?! I'd have given you two bowls on the house!"

Naruto drooled a bit on that prospect buck shook it off. "No, I gotta go home. Could I get those bowls tomorrow?"

The old man's smile never faded as he said "Nope, it's a one time only offer."

Naruto mocked some crying and mentioned that old man was mean before leaping off.

* * *

She arrived at the edge of the fortress like hidden village, out of breath and energy, but unable to take a break. She focused and searched for him, filtering through the hundreds of high chakra marks to find only the highest totals, knowing that would be him. When she found the strongest emanation she lamented, that was definitely not him, though it disturbed her to think of someone with stronger chakra then him. She adjusted her senses and focused harder. She found him on the move. After that she tracked the positions of the guards along the outer wall and when she saw a gap she went through as quickly as she could.

* * *

Hinata was trying her best to hush people and usher them into their hiding places for the surprise moment. These activities were made all the more urgent because she knew Naruto was coming with her byakugan. "Put that out and get inside behind the couch please. Save the food for when the party begins please. I know he cares too but can he please sit outside for now? I don't care how many roaches are in the building he's going to be here any minute!" Sakura was also helping valiantly along this vein, and the success was showing. After a solid 3 minutes of begging and pleading everyone finally got in place and was ready to jump out. Hinata turned out the lights and ran to her spot, anticipating the big moment.

* * *

Naruto arrived at his apartment and the lights we're out. He looked around outside for any sign of Hinata. He even said her name a few times. He looked away from the door out to Konoha. "She said to come straight here, but why? If she were home the lights would be on. "Where could she be? Maybe she's still training? In that case I better go pick her up." He heard a noise from inside the apartment and disregarded that idea. The door was unlocked and he threw it open and flipped the lights on.

As soon as the place was illuminated about a dozen people popped up out of every conceivable hiding place within eyesight of the front door, all yelling in unison "SURPRISE!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY NARUTO!!!"

His initial reaction was one of fear, but when he realized who he was looking at it all went away. He looked around and saw almost everyone he knew, and one person he didn't. There was a small banner that said "Congratulation 18th!!" Most of the patrons were in those silly pointed hats with the sparkly strings hanging out of the top. Kiba even threw a matted ball of confetti into his face. It was great.

After the initial surprise the party comers scattered around the apartment with a few going out to hang up on the roof, so as not t be so cramped up. Naruto went to the kitchen first and was pleasantly surprised to see a big thing of ramen set up for people to get bowls from, as well as a cake that was round and decorated on top with a red spiral and 18 candles following the pattern. Aside from that there was a large tray of snack sized treats to pick from. "Where did you guys get all this stuff?"

Chouji who was eating his fill of the food paused long enough to say. "We didn't, Hinata had it all set up a while ago, the people we picked the food up from said she placed the orders a few days ago. She picked some good stuff Naruto you have to try everything."

A voice Naruto wasn't familiar with said "He better do that quickly before you eat them all Sumo-kun." Naruto looked at the source of the voiced and looked at her confused. She grabbed Chouji's arm and said. "Hi, I'm Kuchina, Sumo-kun's girlfriend."

Naruto was a little surprised when he heard that, and he gave a contemplative look around. "So you're Sumo-kun?"

Chouji blushed a bit and nodded. "Kuchina-chan likes to give people nicknames; she has a hard time remembering their real names. Have you picked one for Naruto?"

Kuchina looked at him. "I remember you. You walked into my mom's store one day and she beat you with a broom until you left crying. That was a long time ago and she never would tell me why she did it." Naruto was looking a little distressed; he did in fact remember being beaten by a broom when he was looking around for new clothing a long time ago. Kuchina seemed oblivious to his distress though, and quite suddenly reached up and started pulling on his cheeks, rubbing h thumbs along them.

"Hey whader ya doin?!?!?!" He eventually loosed his cheeks from her grasp and started rubbing them while they turned red.

She just smiled at him. "Whisker. You are whisker." She smiled again and went back to standing next to Chouji who was laughing a little.

When Naruto glared at Chouji for his laughter, Chouji said. "You should have been there when she met Shikamaru; she yanked on his hair and started calling him Pineapple." That earned a laugh from Naruto, and he decided to wander away.

After he was gone Kuchina turned back to Chouji. "You're right Chouji, he is nice. A lot like you. I can't imagine why anyone would be so mean to him as a kid."

Chouji finished his most recent bite and hugged her. "I don't know either. My parents were always afraid of him when he was a kid, but when I met him during the chunin exams and more during our first mission together, I've never been given anything but reason to respect him."

Kuchina thought about it, and then she turned back to the snack tray and saw how quickly it was depleting. "Chouji! Come on now other people need to eat too." She started pulling on his arms to get him away from the counter.

* * *

Naruto nodded to Ino as well as Tenten and Neji on his way away from the kitchen. He got into the living room where the couch had been taken over by Akamaru and Kiba, the latter of which was also talking with Shino. This room also had a few presents stuffed behind the couch, all of which had been bought that very day. As Naruto walked up Kiba raised his glass of punch in a mock toast to Naruto. "To the birthday boy, congratulations" He took a long drink and looked at both Naruto and Shino. "What, neither of you are getting anything to drink?"

Naruto thought about this and realized he was quite thirsty, but Shino stopped him. "Ino provided the punch. I wouldn't trust it." Naruto thought about that and what it meant.

But Kiba just laughed and took another drink. "You joking, that's why I'm drinking it! C'mon Shino don't be so stiff."

Shino adjusted his sunglasses. "Alcohol can have adverse reactions to my symbiotic companions." When all he got for a response was two noises of confusion, Shino groaned. "My bugs."

Kiba leaned forward. "I'm so sorry man, that sucks." A smile spread over his face. "I'll just have to drink for both of us!"

Shortly after that Naruto could here both Neji and Tenten's voices coming loudly from the kitchen, saying something along the lines of "NO LEE!!! YOU CAN"T HAVE ANY PUNCH AND THAT'S IT!!!" Naruto didn't really know what that was about so he wandered off again.

No one was specifically in the bedroom, but Sakura was standing out on the small balcony overlooking Konoha. Naruto walked up behind her and greeted her. She turned and asked "Well are you having a good time?"

Naruto nodded and came out to look at Konoha with her. "I can't believe everyone came. This is so cool. Hmmmmm…" Naruto looked up at the monument visible from here.

Sakura watched his eyes go up. "You still holding onto your dream?"

Naruto looked at her grinned his wide grin. "Of course! I will be Hokage!"

Sakura giggled a little. "You know, I used to think that if you ever did get the office it would be a disaster."

Naruto laughed too. "Yeah, I guess I was a little hot headed." Sakura just gazed at him, blown away by his admission. Naruto saw this and finished. "But I just want people to know that I will do anything for this village, and no one does more then the Hokage."

Sakura nodded. "That's why I think you can handle it now." She turned to Naruto, hugged him and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "Happy birthday Naruto." Naruto blushed a bit but shook it off and thanked her. Sakura looked back out to the city before saying "Anyway if you' looking for Hinata she's up on the roof along with Shikamaru."

Naruto thanked her again and jumped up where he could clearly see both Shikamaru and Hinata. He said hi to both of them, though he landed closer to Shikamaru. "So why are you up here, Pineapple?" He said Shikamaru's nickname humorously and watched him grit his teeth.

Shikamaru brought a cigarette up to his lips and took a long drag. "To wish you a happy coming of age. If you mean the roof, because it is rude to smoke in someone else's house." As he answered smoke poured out of his mouth. He took another suck at his addiction and said "That finishes off this one, I think I can go a few hours without another one so I'll give you two some privacy." He walked past Naruto to the edge of the building but stopped. "So, what did she nickname you?"

Naruto thought about what he meant, and remembered Kuchina. "Whisker." Shikamaru laughed, and jumped down to go back into the apartment.

Naruto just looked at Hinata while she seemed to just stare off into space. When she turned to face him he could see her deactivating her byakugan. "Everyone's having a wonderful time."

Naruto smiled. "It's all thanks to you."

Hinata bent over and picked up something that had been obscured by a shadow on the ground. "Happy Birthday Naruto!"

It was a present, wrapped in shiny blue wrapping paper with a white bow. "Naruto took it out of her hands and looked at it. "Thank you, Hinata-chan. But what about the other presents?"

Hinata was already tearing up. "This is special; I wanted to give it to you myself. You can open it whenever you want."

Naruto smiled and tore it open letting the shreds of paper drop. He then opened the box and something small fell out into his hand. It was a very small glass marble with one side flattened off so that it could be placed on a flat surface. Naruto looked at it, even held it up to the moonlight to get a better view of it. "What is it?"

Hinata reached up and touched it while he held it, and it began glowing blue. "It reacts to chakra, you try."

Naruto channeled a small amount of his chakra into and it started glowing a lot more intensely. He stopped and it dimmed back down to nothing. "It's pretty Hinata."

She nodded. "We both have the same color chakra in it, so I thought if one of us were ever gone on assignment the other could use it to remember."

Naruto gripped in his hand and then put it in his pocket. He looked at her and couldn't say anything. He just hugged her. Then he started to kiss her. Right until he heard someone land nearby.

Naruto quickly turned and saw a very familiar silhouette. The Uchiha stepped down and walked up to Naruto. Sasuke didn't say anything, he just nodded. Naruto nodded back and Sasuke walked away and leapt down into the apartment. Naruto turned back to Hinata and twitched his head towards the entrance to the apartment.

* * *

After Naruto and Hinata came back in everyone gathered in or around the living room to watch as Naruto opened up his presents. Team 10 got him a gift basket complete with a bottle of Sake. The guys of Team Eight got Naruto 5 vouchers for free Ramen at Ichiraku's, explaining it as four for him and one for Hinata. Sakura got him a picture frame, and told him to get a good picture for it. Team guy got Naruto a large poster depicting the symbol of Konoha, to replace the old one he had on his bedroom wall.

After the presents were done the cake was cut, much to Naruto and Chouji's shared delight. Everyone took a slice and started mingling again. Shikamaru finished his quickly and decided to go back out for another smoke. On the way he said something which caught a few peoples attention. "Who are you?"

If that statement didn't make everyone look at him what happened next sure did. Shikamaru was sent flying back and landed on the ground. He quickly stood up and looked at the person who had attacked him. Her appearance was, in a word, weird. She had red eyes and red hair which was neat and straight on one side but wild and spiky on the other. Everyone that could see her was looking at her, completely shocked. She wasn't comfortable either now that she realized how many people were here.

Reacting to the commotion Naruto pushed forward through to get a look at her, while Shikamaru was getting up. Naruto gritted his teeth. "Who the hell do you think you are and what are you doing here?"

She took a step back and double checked her tracking, using the jutsu made the other react with alarm but she was done quickly, he was definitely in that crowd. Right as she thought this the devil himself walked into the bedroom. "Sasuke!"

Sasuke looked at her, incredibly surprise showing on his face. "Karin? What…" He didn't have time to finish before Karin rushed forward and wrapped her arms around his neck.

At that moment Sakura finally got into a position here she could see what was going on. There was a very heavy and dead silence for what seemed like a very long time. No one had much of any idea what was going on or how to react with it. Finally, somewhere in Sakura's head a few synapses fired and she chose how to react. Angrily. Sakura flew forward, grabbed Karin's arms and ripped them away from Sasuke and pinned her to a wall, staring into her eyes with fiendish hatred. "Who are you?!?!"

Karin didn't seem phased at all. Her voice took on a seductive tone as she said "I'm a very _close_ friend of Sasuke's from Otogakure." Quite suddenly Karin's demeanor changed. "SO GET OFF LITTLE GIRL!!!" She thrust Sakura off of her with surprising strength. In retrospect she thought that wasn't such a good idea, as there were now more ninja techniques pointing at her then she or the apartment could hope to survive. Then she felt like she couldn't move.

Shikamaru was standing with a hand seal presented. "Got her, now Miss Karin I can hold you all night or I can walk you right to the prisons since you openly admit to allegiance with one of our villages most wanted criminals. However, you seem to have come here for a reason, and it seems to be connected to Sasuke, so I'll let him do the questioning for now. Sasuke?"

Sakura was moving forward to protest but Sasuke grabbed her arm and stooped her. "Sakura, please stay back. I'll handle this." She did but was obviously not happy. Sasuke meanwhile stepped forward and bit his finger. A moment later he was holding his sword, and in the next moment it was against Karin's throat. "Did Orochimaru send you?"

Karin tried to shake her head but she couldn't even do that much. "No."

Sasuke didn't seem to react t her answer at all. "Why are you here then, and make it short."

"To warn you! It's Orochimaru! And Itachi! Their coming in the spring and they are going to destroy everything! He's going to kill you!"

Many people around the room gasped, and there were whispers. Then Sasuke said "I know."

"What!" was the general consensus from everyone but Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata.

Even Karin didn't understand. "How could you possibly know about it?"

Sasuke didn't really think there was any point in lying about any of it. "We received the information from a hidden agent in Akatsuki who contacted Kakashi Hatake While on assignment. As you should all understand, the information was declared top secret, and was only shared with those closest to the Hokage. Now that you all know about this, you are ordered not to reveal it to anyone else." He surrounded by nods. Sasuke turned back to Karin. "Let her go."

Shikamaru made a noise to show his lack of consent. "Not a chance, she's going to prison."

Sasuke didn't flinch. "You won't get anything else out of her, nothing that I didn't reveal, and she can never return to Otogakure, she knew that when she came here. Now she can leave, she's no threat to anyone."

The shadow retracted and Karin was able to relax. "Sasuke I…"

Sasuke shook his head and pointed his sword to the window. "Go."

Karin knew from the way he said it there was no way to question it. She went.

* * *

The next morning the village woke up with all its normal commotion. Above one particular clothing store there was a young woman who had had a hard time sleeping. Kuchina walked over to the kitchen area of her family's home where her mother was already preparing the meal. She couldn't take it. "Mom, something bad is going to happen…"

* * *

A/N: I've said it before and I'll say it again. "Uh-Oh" 


	50. Reaction

A/N: I like how in one chapter Kishimoto completely obliterated my theory about Tobi's identity. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go read Naruto 364. Then again… Ah whatever I'll save my speculation for forums and the like, this place is only for the posting of my FF. This chapter's a little shorter then the last few, but it's still good.

* * *

Chapter 50: Reaction

Secrets have a very bad habit of going everywhere very quickly. They also have a habit of avoiding the ears of those who know it's supposed to be secret until it's too late to stop the chain.

* * *

By the time Chouji found out that Kuchina had slipped, her mom had already let the information slip to a few friends, who in turn had leaked it to few more. In many cases customers and other stander-bys were close enough to overhear. So now half of Konoha was rushing around, either starting preparations to fortify their homes or in worse cases preparing to leave the hidden village altogether.

"Kuchina-chan how could you tell her?" Chouji was following her through the streets, and she was trying desperately not to talk to him. Eventually he pushed far enough through to grab her shoulder with a slightly enlarged hand and arm. He held her and forced her to turn and face him. She averted her eyes and was still trying to get away. "Kuchina-chan…"

She tried to throw his arm off but he held her. "I…I…It was my mother...I was worried…I was scared…I couldn't handle it!" She squeaked a bit as Chouji hugged her. She wasn't really crying, but she was on the verge.

Chouji held her away at arms length so he could talk to her again. "Go home, I'll come see you later but right now there are a lot of things I have to do."

Kuchina nodded. Right before Chouji ran off she tapped his shoulder. "Thank you, Chouji." He smiled and left.

* * *

The indecipherable chorus of requests and questions and statements and ideas that were bombarding Tsunade were pushing her closer and closer to her last nerve. Shizune was trying her best to help, but it was doing on a minimal amount of good. The elders were also in the room, though they were more focused on glaring at Tsunade after accusing her of letting the information leak.

A number of the people that had flooded her office were quite suddenly pushed to the side, creating a large enough gap for Sakura to slide through. She leapt over the desk and landed next to Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama I have a report."

"Alright let's hear it!"

"The leak occurred last night when an operative of Orochimaru's came into contact with me and several other people. Here's a list of the names."

Tsunade scanned the list of names, mumbling them off to her self. "Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha"_ 'Of course those three'_ "Hinata Hyuga." _'and her' _"Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka" _'He's rambunctious but he knows classification protocol' _"Tenten, Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Chouji Akimichi, Kuchina Naishi?" Tsunade indicated with her finger for Sakura to move closer. "Who's this Kuchina Naishi?"

Sakura eyes widened for a moment. Her face showed odd mixture of self disappointment and sadness. "She's a civilian." Tsunade didn't even have to say fetch for Sakura to begin pushing her chakra enhanced fists through the crowds again. About halfway to the door the entire crowd was shoved aside by two enormous arms.

Chouji ran through the gap he had created and walked straight up to Tsunade, bowing his head in shame. "Hokage-sama, the leak was entirely my fault, please forgive me."

Of course the elders looked at him immediately. Tsunade was stunned for a long second while Sakura moved up to the desk next to Chouji. She had heard him yell out the confession, but she didn't believe him. "Chouji what's going on?"

"I told some people about the coming battle. I'm so sorry."

Tsunade motioned for him to move closer. When he leaned in she slapped him across the face. "Don't lie to me. Where is she?" Chouji righted himself and attempted to say something about him telling the truth, so Tsunade slapped him again.

Sakura put a hand on his shoulder and nodded at him. "I asked her to remain at her home, I can retrieve her."

Tsunade shook her head. "That won't be necessary. Apprehending her will not stop the spread of information. Nothing will." Tsunade stood up and yelled. "EVERYBODY SHUT UP!!!!!!! As of now I am acting as I see fit for the security of this village. Sakura! Move at top speed to the main gate, order them to close it. No one comes in or out. Shizune! Get any ninja who hasn't gone insane. I want half of them informing everyone that I will be making a public announcement on top of this building. The other half are to begin setting up the speakers. Chouji! You're with Shizune. The rest of you either fall into the category of sane ninjas assisting Shizune or need to leave this office and await the announcement. That will be all." The orders were absolute, and finalized most when Tsunade jumped over her desk and marched to the door. She didn't even need to shove to make a path, her clout handled it for her.

* * *

The line between ninja and non-ninja had been drawn fairly clearly. While most of the civilian population had taken to the streets, the ninja on the other hand had taken to the rooftops. And there were lots of Ninja's moving. After the initial closing of the main gates, there were a fair number of small riots attempting to break them down or push them open. In reaction many ninja were sent to calm the crowds down, and whenever things got quiet enough the news of the public announcement was relayed. The main gates weren't nearly as bad as the Hokage's office though.

After Tsunade had loosed the ninja and walked to the roof of the building a number of people had gathered around her office. Some were waiting; others were pushing against the ninja at the entrance and demanding various things.

The ninja that weren't assigned to defend various points were mostly gathered on rooftops near the Hokage's office. Several were also on top of the Hokage's office setting up several large speakers and a microphone so that Tsunade's message would be heard clearly. Tsunade herself was standing on top of that very office overseeing the entire thing.

Finally it was done. The speakers came on with a loud feed back noise that echoed through the streets and alleyways of Konoha. It was followed by a general groan of pain from the people around the Hokage office. The noise had been loud enough to be heard all the way out to the gates, and it caught the attention of many who were standing there, drawing them back to the heart of the village.

The people looked up and watched Tsunade walk to the edge of her office with the microphone in hand. She was dressed in the ceremonial Hokage garb, complete with the hat. She tapped the Microphone and listened to the sounds reverberate. "Hello everWOOOOOOOOOO" The feed back started up again, and a few knob adjustments later some nearby subordinates gave her thumbs up. "Hello everyone. I'm sure by now you all know at least one version of the story. Here's the truth. Orochimaru is planning another attack. We know it will come in the spring. We know he is coming with his full force. And we know he will be aided by Akatsuki, a group of ruthless s-class ninja."

Tsunade paused and let the information sink in. The crowds surged with people coming to grasp with their fears. "I wasn't here the last time Orochimaru attacked, but from what I've heard the response from this hidden villages ninja force was fast, precise, and effective at deterring the invaders. I heard that the protection of civilians, namely you, was top priority. I heard that several Ninja gave their lives to defend this village. And one of them was my sensei, Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage."

She paused again and let the memories resurface. "They fought here. And I plan to do the same. And if you're not brave enough to stay through those tough times, then GET OUT OF MY VILLAGE!!! I want the main gates reopened. For those of you that decide to stay, remember, the entire ninja force will be here to protect when the battle comes. Right down to every last Genin. We will never let this village or the people who live in it come to harm. That is all."

Tsunade just walked away.

* * *

Tsunade's words spread as quickly as the original knowledge of the invasion. Luckily they spread in almost their original form every time. There were some who still couldn't handle it, and a large number of people left the village. There was one man that brought his two sons out to the gate and let them see how Tsunade had fulfilled her promise to protect them. He pointed out how the wall patrols had doubled. After his children understood he marched them back into the city, glaring at a few other families making their way out. As he passed by one they suddenly turned around and walked back in as well.

That night Tsunade had reports of how many had jumped ship. She was proud as it was only five percent of the village's civilian population. The next day maybe more would leave, and she feared that in the spring there might be another day like this. But in some small corner of her mind she was glad that these people would leave the city, as it would lower the casualties when the battle began.

* * *

Chouji went to Kuchina's house after everything was said and done. When she saw it was him she looked down in shame. She proceeded to explain that her mother and father had decided to leave with her younger brother. She had defied their wishes and stayed. "I have to stay. It's all my fault Chouji-kun. All of this because I couldn't keep my mouth shut."

Chouji patted her shoulders. "You never had to take a three week long class on keeping secrets." That earned a small, weak smile from her. But Chouji looked contemplative. "I wish you would have left though. Things will be very dangerous, and I may not be enough to defend you."

She shook her head. "No, I'll be safer here in this village. Thank you for coming over Chouji-kun."

He nodded and left.

* * *

Sakura saw Sasuke walk in. "Where were you all day?"

Sasuke stopped. "Training."

Sakura couldn't believe it for a second, and then she caught herself. It surprised her because the commotion had been so great that most people hadn't even thought about training. Even Naruto accepted his orders to clone himself and tell everyone about the announcement. "So do you know what happened?"

Sasuke nodded as a response, while also getting some food from the fridge.

Sakura noticed he got something out for her as well. "Did you here Tsunade-sama's speech?"

Sasuke shook his head to indicate that he had not while he stuck the food in the microwave and started to cook it.

Now Sakura was getting a little annoyed with his silence. "Exceeded your word limit for the day?"

Sasuke looked at her. "What are you talking about?"

Sakura smiled. "That's better. Anyway what were you training on?" Sasuke was still staring at her. She watched his eyes transform and warp into a more streamlined sharingan. She remembered Naruto describing Kakashi's eye doing the same thing and what he had called it. "Sasuke, is that the mangekyo sharingan? How did you get it?"

Sasuke had nodded to answer her first question. "Kakashi taught me how."

The silence was strong until the microwave dinged and Sasuke put the food on the table. She walked over and started to eat. "Well, I guess you're almost ready for him then." Sasuke didn't react. "I won't interfere, even if it means you die. But just so you know, Naruto and me will kill him if that happens."

Sasuke paused for a second. "Thank you."

* * *

A/N: Next chapter, the real training begins. 


	51. Spar

A/N: Sorry for the delay on this one, a friend of mine recommended an Anime series called Gantz to me. I did a little research and found that the anime differs from the manga heavily toward its end, and being of the inclination that you should stick to the source material (except with Fullmetal alchemist, that anime was still pretty good) I decided to check out a few Gantz chapters instead of the anime. I spent the last couple days reading all 254 chapters in rapid succession between my other jobs. Anyway I recommend Gantz to anyone who's ok with lots of death, gore, sadness, hopelessness, confusion and just a bit of sex.

Reviews: Yeah I didn't do this last chapter. If you were wondering why, it's cuz I forgot. Oops.

Rasengan: As good an idea as that is, sorry I won't be doing that.

Epic: Ya'know that's the most common complaint I get, And I really understand that whole thing. It was my most disliked part of the story too. And I think I'd do it a little differently given another shot. But oh well.

Sandy: At this time both of them are far to obsessed with taking on akatsuki to have any time for students but you should definitely not rule it out as a future possibility. Otherwise thanks for the complement and I might just give it a read. The reason I say might will be revealed in the after chapter author's note.

Zeek: I'm concocting some new ideas for the Tobi character within my FF, but so far they're pretty bad so I'll probably stick with my original plan for the character. This is way different then what it looks like he'll be doing in the actual manga?

* * *

Chapter 51: Spar

Naruto of all people was standing outside when Sasuke came out. He was standing there with a wide grin and his arms crossed, so Sasuke knew he had a plan. Sasuke was walking toward Naruto when Naruto spoke up. "Hey Sasuke, I think we have a problem." Sasuke didn't really react so Naruto continued. "I don't think we can get any stronger the way we've been going."

Sasuke couldn't pass up a chance to contradict Naruto. "Speak for yourself."

Sasuke was beginning to turn away when Naruto dropped the bomb. "Have you actually used those new eyes on a person yet?" Sasuke stopped, as expected.

Sasuke turned and was looking at Naruto with his mangekyo sharingan eyes. He turned them off moments later. "Too dangerous. I could put a training partner into a coma."

Naruto was looking serious now. "Sakura told me the snakes have stopped answering your call." Sasuke glanced at the house and glimpsed Sakura ducking for cover. Naruto wasn't done yet. "You didn't drop when Kakashi used it on you, so I'll be fine. Even if something goes wrong, we have Tsunade-baa-chan to get us out of it. The only thing that's too dangerous is you not knowing how to use those eyes when Itachi comes."

Sasuke on the hand was clenching his fist. Everything Naruto had said was true. The snakes had stopped coming shortly after he started being able to fully use Tsukuyomi's mind damaging effects. And Amaterasu was easy enough to fire off at training dummies but what about a fully mobile opponent? And finally there was Susanoo, which according to the scroll would have no noticeable effect without someone to use it against. "Alright then. Just don't run off crying, Naruto."

* * *

Sakura showed up to Kurenai's house ready to learn Genjutsu, but there was no answer when she first knocked on the door. As she was about to knock again a little harder the door suddenly burst open. Kurenai was coming out, holding onto a large bag with one hand and her gut with the other. The look on her face was one of urgency. Having trained as a medical ninja and having done a lot of work at the hospital Sakura knew what was going on. "Come here Kurenai Sensei, I'll help you right to the hospital ok?"

Kurenai nodded, handing Sakura her bag and closing the door behind her. Sakura placed a glowing green hand on Kurenai's gut as a way to see how everything was progressing. From the looks of things they would have plenty of time to get to the hospital for the birth, but Tsunade had always taught her to expect complications.

* * *

The sounds of combat we're echoing out of the training ground within the Hyuga estate. And this particular combat had quite a gathering around it. Hanabi had been there from the beginning, but slowly other members of the Hyuga clan both main and branch had gathered to observe. Locked in combat were three people. Hiashi, Neji and Hinata all in a three way free for all. Their movements were fast, their attacks precise, but what appealed most to the on lookers was the fluidity to it all. The three of them had vastly different styles of combat, Neji's forceful forward thrusting attacks, Hinata's rapid defensive motions, and Hiashi a true master of the gentle fist, and they all seemed to just be flowing around each other like water.

The battle continued until Hiashi finally gained the upper hand, using his swirling chakra to push an attack from Neji into Hinata. Though she deflected it the moment was still there when Hiashi was able to strike them both down simultaneously. As Neji and Hinata stood they were met with applause from the surrounding crowd, which slowly began to dissipate. Many would admit they had been watching solely to see Hinata. Though Hiashi had disowned her some time ago he had slowly began accepting her back as a pupil. Though this was interesting enough by itself, rumor had it that Hinata had advanced by leaps and bounds since leaving the compound in the first place.

The rumor mill continued, until some said she had even surpassed her sister, a prodigy. So when many of the family members heard that such a sparring match was taking place they could only respond with curiosity and attendance. The proof was before their eyes. Hinata, one of the weakest Hyuga to be born in decades, who had been heralded as proof of the main house's decline, whose record was failure after failure and eventual banishment from the clan, here she now stood battling on par with Neji.

Of those who had seen her advancement there was no doubt in their minds that she had surpassed her younger sister. There would be talk of reinstating her into the clan. There would also be talk of restoring her as rightful heir. What all of them knew and were trying to ignore was the immediate reason of her banishment. Naruto. Some hours later when the three were enveloped in yet another battle there were some family members that had taken refuge far from that display in order to talk of family matters. At one point the term "Fox brat" came up in the conversation. Later the term became "The Boy". Even later it became "Kakashi's other student". Then, one of the younger but more prominent family members said "Yondaime's legacy."

* * *

Kurenai began having pains about two hundred meters from the hospital so Sakura had her sit down and ran to the hospital to get her a stretcher, which arrived promptly. She stayed with Kurenai right up to the point when they were taking her into the room, which Sakura knew was as far as she would be able to go. Jus before they got Kurenai into the room she looked at Sakura and panted out. "Go…See…AHHHHHHH…Kakashi" She was screaming in increasing pain after that, so Sakura exited to the waiting room, pondering what Kurenai had told her.

"S-S-Sakura! How is she?!" Shikamaru had just run into the hospital and spotted Sakura. After saying it he noticed quite a few eyes glaring at him, including Sakura's. It didn't take him long to realize what he'd done wrong so he pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and scraped it out against the bottom of his shoe before throwing it in the trash. The hospital staff went back to work while Sakura approached Shikamaru.

Sakura was actually impressed that he had come so quickly, so she told him the room number but warned him he wouldn't be able to go in until it was all done. Shikamaru sat down and sighed, muttering his staple statement over and over again. Sakura left the hospital smiling, partly from Shikamaru's antics and partly from a warm feeling about Kurenai finally having a baby. She shook it off and remembered what she had been told. "Kakashi."

* * *

Naruto was stretching in preparation. "So what's it like when you use that scuky yami thing?"

Sasuke cringed, but didn't immediately lash out at Naruto's butchered pronunciations. "It's dark. Are you ready?"

Naruto smiled. "Of course, I mean it's not like you're really going to do anything you're just going to see if you can do it o another human."

Sasuke nodded. They looked into each other's eyes. Sasuke activated the mangekyo sharingan. The world dissolved around Naruto and was quickly replaced by a dark one. Sasuke had chosen to model this visit after the old academy, and Naruto was shocked to find himself stuck in his younger form, staring at Sasuke also in his younger form. "Hmmmmmm."

Naruto looked around. "Wow. Creepy. Why are we kids?"

Sasuke also looked around and examined himself. "Two birds, one stone. I can use it against people, and I can also manipulate the reality. If I were to try anything like this against snakes they would usually die from mental stress too quickly. Congratulations Naruto you have more mental endurance then a snake."

Naruto took offense to that. "OF COURSE I DO!!!!!"

'**Interesting, I do remember this place, though it is a bit hazy. It's likely because Naruto had never called on me before, so I was not fully attuned to his senses.'**

Naruto and Sasuke's heads snapped sideways to see the third party, though both understood quickly. They both knew it was the Kyuubi both from its voice and its appearance, though the latter was somewhat different in the world of Tsukuyomi. The Kyuubi was about as tall as an adult, despite sitting down and on all fours, though it's ears helped with this. It's nine tails were flowing behind it in swaying patterns. But what was truly unique about it's appearance was it's completely white coloring.

Sasuke was quite suddenly his more adult self and was approaching the Kyuubi. "Why are you here?"

Though it's face was inscrutable, it's voice was obviously laughing. **'Hahahaha, this illusion functions by creating a new reality directly into the mind of the target, making it inescapable, instantaneous, and incredibly stressful to the victim. As I am an integral part of Naruto's mind and body, it is only natural that I would come here with him. So, you have come this far. It is true that this is one of the more advanced techniques born of that cursed clan, so, why do you require it?'**

Sasuke was within an arms distance of the Kyuubi manifestation at this point. "Why do you care how I use these eyes?"

It didn't answer, instead it just started laughing. Sasuke reached out to it but it had already disappeared. He turned back to Naruto who had been watching everything curiously.

They were outside again, standing in the training field and their appropriate ages. Naruto sat down and grabbed his head while Sasuke looked on. "Naruto, are you hurt?"

Naruto shook his head. "Naw, just a little headache that's all. Sorry about him though, I didn't think that would happen."

Sasuke shook his head. "No matter. Thanks."

* * *

Sakura didn't have to look very hard to find Kakashi, though she was quite embarrassed by the way she found him. Might Guy challenged Kakashi to a taste recognition competition at a diner, which had been going on for a very long time with the condition that the loser pay for all the food. Though at first Kakashi had been very apathetic about it he became quite serious when he began to realize how expensive it was going to be. The contest revolved around a blindfolded Kakashi or Guy biting into something the waitresses handed to them, and them having to call out what it was they were eating. This went back and forth.

Sakura couldn't help but be a little disgusted and ashamed that this is how two of the greatest ninja in Konoha spent their time. After watching them go back and forth for ten rounds after her arrival, she couldn't take it anymore. "Can you two hurry this up please?"

Kakashi had just bit into a mango when he heard her. "Sakura?" (Note: Sakura ≈ Cherry)

The moderator of the competition stepped up and yelled out "INCORRECT!!!!!! MIGHT GUY IS THE WINNER!!!! HATAKE KAKASHI IS THE BUYER!!!!" The people who had been watching clapped as Guy began gloating and posing dramatically atop the table.

Kakashi removed the blindfold and looked at Sakura who was rapidly shrinking away. "Kurenai informed me about your situation. But I have one condition before I help you."

Sakura didn't really get what was going on. "Help me? With what? She asked for you after going into labor which is weird I mean I didn't think there was anything between you two but…"

Kakashi hushed her. "It's nothing like that Sakura; it's for your genjutsu training." Sakura understood that. "But you have to do me a favor before I help you." He pointed to the restaurant that had been hosting the contest. "Half."

Sakura was sitting at the training field and crying lightly. She gave all the money she had on her at the time and it was nowhere near enough to pay for even half the bill. Kakashi fronted it but warned Sakura that she owed him a great deal. Kakashi turned back to her and sighed. "Come on now, we don't have time for you to pout. I think its time I gave you some individual training."

Sakura stood up and wiped off her face. "Alright, but why? Kurenai was a genjutsu master. What can you teach me that she couldn't?"

Kakashi pulled up on his forehead protector revealing his other eye. "How to use Genjutsu against someone who can resist it to great effect."

Sakura looked at him for a moment before smirking. "Of course, the sharingan."

* * *

Naruto was now standing a great distance away from the battlefield, where a clone of his was currently engaging Sasuke in long range combat. Of course, Naruto's only means of long range combat was nothing but throwing shuriken and kunai, but he had found a way to make it more challenging for Sasuke. All of the kunai he was throwing had his formula on them, allowing Naruto to warp to the kunai's location and throw it again after Sasuke dodged or deflected it. All of this was very interesting but the main purpose had not been reached yet.

Sasuke was tracking Naruto's movements, discerning the pattern. He had it figured out, but he had to make sure. He was sure. "Amaterasu." The Naruto clone appeared to grab one of the kunai just as a blast of jet black fire rushed at him. The clone had been off the ground at the time the blast began so it was traveling upward. The blast extended about twenty feet and left nothing to drop back down to the ground. After it was done Sasuke hunched down on the ground, out of breath from the extreme amount of chakra he had released.

The real Naruto leapt to where Sasuke was he began to stand up. "Wow, that was, uhhhh, cool." Sasuke stood up with a smirk. "How much chakra did you use?"

Sasuke looked in the direction he had fired it and noticed how the ground beneath where the blast had been was completely dehydrated. "A lot. Considering how much I used with Tsukuyomi, I think I could use Amaterasu maybe twice more. But that would be pushing it." Sasuke looked at Naruto who was picking up his kunai. "Why did you want to help me? Aren't you missing out on time to train yourself?"

Naruto faced him and smiled. "Didn't you think my clone was moving a little slow?" Sasuke thought about it. He realized the truth almost as soon as Naruto started to say it. "I have about five hundred clones off training some where else. Besides, you need to be strong as possible too. I mean, I don't want to have to fight Itachi. You're gonna beat him Sasuke."

* * *

It was now night and Hinata was sitting not in the comfort of what had been her home for some months now, but instead in the comfort of her old home. In one of the other rooms somewhere, her father and a number of other important dignitaries of the Hyuga family were talking about her.

"The protection of he kekkei genkai is one of the most important tasks of both family houses. We understood Hiashi's motives, and we went along with his decision, but not one of you can deny knowing that this would be an eventual outcome. Hinata's recent advancement is proof enough that the Byakugan is as much hers as any of ours, and as such she belongs here, with her family." The elder ended his speech, and the other clan leaders considered it.

Hiashi nodded. "No more can I push my own flesh and blood away, but rather I must embrace her. She has done enough to gain my pride, but it is her choice, we cannot force her to live here if she will not, and that is what I fear."

The youngest family head raised his hand to garner some attention to himself, after which he lowered it. "I have heard that what drove her away from this house in the first place was a man. I understand that the boy is not of any nobility, but one cannot ignore his achievements. He was the winner of the competition during his Chunin exams, now he is a jonin, and he was personally trained by Jiraiya of the Sannin. He is an accomplished young ninja, this Naruto."

One of the elders shook his head. "This Naruto is also the vessel of the Kyuubi no Yoko, would you invite a demon into your home?"

The murmurs began. And the young dignitary stood up to get above the noise. "A demon that fought against Orochimaru's forces during his invasion? Who was honored as a hero in the land of waves to the point that a landmark bears his name? At what point in his life has he done anything but everything to earn the respect and admiration of this entire village?"

The uproar broke out once more until Hiashi raised his hand to signal that everyone should be silent. "I have too often before been guilty of judging only by the birthright of those who've sought my respect. This time I will not make such a mistake." He stood and walked to the door. "My original belief stands. The choice is Hinata's." He left the room and went to where Hinata was waiting.

When Hinata saw him coming she bowed her head down. As she eased herself back up she looked up at him. "What has been decided of m fate?" She couldn't hide a little conceit her tone in saying that, and she chocked it up to more of Naruto's influence on her.

But Hiashi just smiled and shook his head. "We have decided that you may come back if you wish, and if that is what you want, you will be the heir of our family once again."

Hinata could only barely believe what she was hearing. But she didn't hear what was important to her. "What about Naruto?"

Hiashi's face became slightly more serious, but he was still smiling to his daughter. "As with any who marry, the head of the house will meet with the couple."

There were no conditions attached, just the necessity of marriage. Hinata couldn't deny that it was what she wanted more then anything, but that desire was buried in her fear that Naruto would never accept such a thing. But her father had not quoted any time limits. There were no restrictions at all, and it was all her choice. "I'm not ready to come back yet. But someday I will be."

Hiashi nodded. "The offer is open. Until you are ready to make this your home once more, you are still welcome to train here. It is late though, you should go home." Hinata stood up and hugged her father. A sign of affection that she could not ever remember showing to him. He hugged her back, which she could similarly not remember having any precedent. When they were done she rushed out of the building with out another word.

* * *

Naruto was at home and tired. Aside from his hundreds of clones still working on mastering the flying thunder god jutsu after the first use of Amaterasu Sasuke had requested a few hundred clones of his own to train against. Naruto used this second group of clones to work on further manipulating his wind chakra against an opponent as tough as Sasuke. So in every way he could be tired Naruto was. When he got home Hinata wasn't there so he ate a small dinner and jumped right into bed.

Hinata came in and saw him sleeping. She stripped down and crawled into bed next to him, waking him up. "I love you Naruto-kun."

He got the idea.

* * *

A/N: And I bet you guys do too.

Any way there might be another chater delay, I've heard some good things about Death Note...


	52. Moving Forward

A/N: Death Note: A lot of talking made reading the manga a slow process. Overall good as far as the psychological implications of the mass murder of the criminally guilty… You know what lets just say it was good, kinda like a mystery novel with pictures. And death gods. Gotta have the death gods. Yeah. Lol. Anyway I'm moving towards the final conflict. Part of this final conflict is the further integration of my theories considering the Naruto verse. You've already seen some of it before, but nothing like what's coming up.

Reviews:

AnimeGirl: I like reviews like this, and I am highly flattered.

Dylan: WILL DO!!

Zeek: Yeah well you should have faith in Sasuke after all Sakua and Naruto do. As for the thunder god jutsu he's trying.

Avatar: Well I'm not sure what a is, but I can imagine all sorts of possibilities which put a number of unpleasant images in my mind. For my own mental stability and quite possibly other peoples don't elaborate.

* * *

Chapter 52: Moving Forward

Naruto was looking into the window of a store he had never looked into before. Hinata had told him about what her father had said regarding her position in the clan. He had heard in her voice that she did in fact miss her family and at least a part of her wished to move back there. The only thing stopping her from doing it was her attachment to him. So Naruto was looking at this store's merchandise when he knew he was running late for his training with Sasuke. He gritted his teeth and walked away.

* * *

Sakura was no longer binding herself when ever she looked into Kakashi's eyes, but he was still releasing the genjutsu much too quickly for Sakura to ever achieve anything. Kakashi was timing how long it took his sharingan eye to detect the genjutsu and then how much effort was needed to repel it, and with each use Sakura was improving by parts of a second. However, the extensive training was beginning to wear her down, and the last few days he was seeing her run low on chakra much quicker. Today it was barely noon and they had been training for barely 4 hours when she was showing signs of fatigue. "Sakura, you should take a break. Your chakra system can't take much more abuse."

Sakura shook it off. "I'm fine; besides, your book can wait till I can do this."

Kakashi couldn't deny his motive was two fold, but what he had stated was also true. "Nope, sorry Sakura, you don't get a choice. I'm forcing you to take a day off."

* * *

Naruto arrived at the training field stretching his arm in preparation. As he walked out to the middle a number of kunai flew at him from all directions and impaled him on every side. Sasuke grinned as the clone exploded. "Hey Sasuke. Having fun?"

Sasuke kept looking at the field, not reacting to the kunai pointed at his neck. "Some. Especially the part where I placed an explosive note right there a few minutes ago."

Naruto looked down at the note that was about to explode. Then looked back up to see that Sasuke had already moved into the field. Right as the explosion was about to trigger Naruto leapt high into the air and avoided it. He landed in the field near Sasuke. His landing was not a clean one, and he began to kneel both to breathe and balance. "Nice trick Sasuke."

Sasuke wasn't facing him. "Save it Naruto."

Naruto stood up. "What's your problem?"

Sasuke shook his head. "Don't you have any sense about your own limits?"

Naruto let a laugh out. "Ero-sennin once asked me that. Or something like that. I said, 'I'm gonna be the next Hokage I can't have limits!!' After I said that he tied me up so that I would rest for a day." Naruto fell and sat down on the ground. "You're exhausted too eh?"

Sasuke finally turned to Naruto. He nodded.

Both of them had reason to be exhausted. For several days straight Sasuke used all the chakra he had available to launch Amaterasu after Amaterasu at quickly moving, and on later days multiple targets. Naruto was fully worn down from his extensive uses of Shadow clones for training simultaneous with his activities assisting Sasuke. For several days they had both noticed considerable drops in their abilities, but their determination and pride kept them from acknowledging it until now.

They had acknowledged it.

* * *

Hinata was amazed at how quickly she had been immersed in the Hyuga clan's training regiment after her unofficial reinstatement. Currently she was not only observing but actually participating in training her younger sister, Hanabi. What she remembered of her younger sister was always being relatively inferior considering the age difference. But now Hinata was easily above her sibling and even giving her pointers. And her father watched approvingly.

* * *

"Sooooooooo… What do you do on a day off?" Naruto was walking behind Sasuke with his hands behind his head.

Sasuke didn't immediately answer. "I don't know."

Naruto wanted to be surprised; he wanted to make some loud noise of disbelief. But in all honesty he just couldn't. "I guess you've never really needed a day off to recover have you?'

Sasuke shook his head. They were now standing at the bridge where the three of them used to gather. "Orochimaru used special medicines and performance enhancing drugs to enhance my rate of recovery. And before I left I was simply never pushed this hard. I can only ever remember being this tired a few times in my life. After fights, Haku, Gaara… You."

Naruto was unusually solemn today. "I feel like his all the time. I know if I don't work this hard I'd never be able to keep up."

The Sasuke said something that surprised Naruto. "What about Sakura?"

Naruto was a little off balance at first, but he smiled and shrugged. "I don't know, I never thought to ask her. How are things going between you two anyway?" During the second sentence his grin had expanded quite a lot.

Sasuke didn't notice Naruto's face; he was too busy looking down at his reflection. "What do you mean?"

Naruto hid his frustration. "Oh come on Sasuke, you've been living with her for a while now."

"You don't have to answer that Sasuke." Naruto and Sasuke looked up to see Sakura standing on the opposite railing. "And as for you Naruto." She leapt forward and punched Naruto square in the head sending him over the railing and into the river. After it was done she sighed pleasantly. "It's been to long since I did that."

Sasuke was smiling now. "Hey, Sakura. How is Genjutsu training going?"

Sakura made a double take at Sasuke. "You finally asked me. Anyway it's going well; Kurenai stopped training me and instead sent me to Kakashi so I could get practice against a sharingan. OOH that's right, Kurenai had her baby. We should all go by!"

Naruto was out of the river and shaking himself off. He pulled off the top of his jump suit and started violently shaking it in the air. "Yeah sure right after I get dried off."

* * *

"So, what have you been able to gather?" Tsunade didn't face Jiraiya, but instead stared out her windows.

Jiraiya wasn't looking at the back of her chair; he too was looking out the window. "Nothing you couldn't have seen coming. Every one of Orochimaru's bases that we've been monitoring since Sasuke's return has been mobilizing. When the spring comes they will have the most cover for reaching the village undetected, we believe that as soon as the trees reach the peak of their spring growth Orochimaru's bases will empty, leaving behind only a skeleton crew. As for Akatsuki, we don't know where any of them are, but my contacts in other villages have confirmed it. They have captured all the jinchiuuriki except for Naruto. He will be their primary target during the attack."

Tsunade let out a small chuckle. "It's funny I can also hear him saying 'That's just how I want it, I'll take them all on.'"

Jiraiya was frowning. "Your impersonation of Naruto is horrible."

Tsunade's smile faded. "What else can you tell me?"

Jiraiya returned to being serious again as well. "For what it's worth I've been trying to get reinforcements from other villages. The water country would not accept an audience. The earth country told me to go to hell. I was able to speak directly with the Raikage. All he would say was 'maybe'. I really don't know where that guy stands in all of this. Wind, of course, was much more courteous. Though the Kazekage was as depressing as ever, the entire council promised no less than 5 full squads. So that's it."

Tsunade stared at the village even more intensely. "Twenty men from the sand village, and possible but indefinite help from the cloud village, that's not a lot of help. What about the smaller ninja villages?"

Jiraiya shook his head, despite the fact that Tsunade could not see him. "They are small for a reason; it takes their entire ninja population just to keep them sturdy. I did try to ask, but the answers were all no."

Tsunade finally spun her chair around to face Jiraiya. "And what about you?"

Jiraiya smiled. "I'm afraid I'm here to stay."

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke looked at Sakura with a mixed astonishment and embarrassment. She was leaning over Kurenai who was lying in bed and holding her baby. It was the look on her face that made everyone, even Kurenai uncomfortable. Sakura's hands were clutched near her chin, her eyes were wide and locked on the baby, and her mouth was in a perpetual state of awe. Naruto and Sasuke could only pray that the baby did absolutely nothing. Every time the newborn made even the slightest twitch or quietest coo, Sakura would gasp and point it out to everyone in the room. Sakura thought the baby was so magnificent that she wouldn't let Naruto or Sasuke leave the room.

Finally Naruto was tired of Sakura's methods and spoke out. "So is it a boy or a girl?"

Kurenai tore her eyes off of Sakura and looked to Naruto. "He's a little boy."

Sasuke also pitched in. "What's his name?"

Kurenai turned to Sasuke, and then she turned to look at her son. "Asuma."

Naruto nodded understandingly, while Sakura let out a long "Awwwwwwwwwwww".

Kurenai smiled and gently held up the sleeping baby. "Sakura, would you like to hold him?"

Sakura's body tensed up even tighter then before when she thought about that. She relaxed her self and reached out for the child. Kurenai handed it to her gently, and Sakura clutched it to her chest. HE stirred a little in his sleep but was quickly silent and still in her arms. She rocked a little back and forth and watched him. She wasn't really sure of what to do or what to say so she said the first thing that came to mind. "He's so light. I feel like I'm going to break him."

Naruto underhandedly remarked "Knowing you, you will." Right afterwards Naruto braced himself for the incoming blow, but it didn't come.

Sakura had heard him, but she didn't care she was completely absorbed in holding onto the baby. Asuma began to stir and cry lightly, so Sakura moved back over to Kurenai and handed him back to her.

Shortly afterward the three of them began to leave. Kurenai said one last thing to Sakura. "You did much better the Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji. I had a little trouble getting him back from them." Kurenai was smiling and it spread to Sakura as she left.

* * *

The three of them decided to go get lunch at Ichiraku's, though this was mostly by Naruto's influence. Once they all had seats they noticed that the other person there was someone familiar to them. It was Sakura that spoke out against him first. "I knew you just wanted to read that book."

Kakashi looked up from the pages of his "novel" and acknowledged his students. "Oh, Hello there Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke. I see you two needed a break as well?"

Naruto and Sasuke nodded. Then Naruto turned to the old man and ordered up some ramen. Sakura and Sasuke did so as well, but in much smaller amounts.

After everyone was almost done eating Kakashi turned to Sakura. "Sakura, I would just like you to know I've put in a word to Tsunade to consider you for advancement to Jonin status. Of course, she highly doubted your abilities to my face, but I have a feeling she'll agree when you tell her about all of your progress with genjutsu."

Sakura was surprised at first. "Thank you Kakashi sensei."

The old man turned and looked at them all. "Hmmmmm… I remember seeing something like this before." They all looked at him confused. "Yeah, back when I was apprentice under the old owner. He was serving up four people just like this, congratulating them on becoming Jonin. I'll never forget it. Sarutobi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru. That was the first time anyone called them the Legendary Sannin. The way I see it, you three fit the job well."

Kakashi rubbed his chin. "These three were each trained by one of the Sannin personally." Kakashi noticed Sasuke stiffen slightly. "Even though the teacher is a horrible man the lessons you learned have made you quite powerful."

Sasuke looked at Kakashi. "I don't need you to tell me that."

Kakashi looked confused. "I was talking about Jiraiya and Naruto."

Naruto stood up and looked at Kakashi. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sakura punched Naruto in the head. "In some respects Jiraiya is far worse then Orochimaru. That lecherous perverted jerk."

Naruto rubbed his head. "But I'm not like that Sakura! I swear!! I'm even going to ask Hinata to…"

Sakura's feminine mind homed in on what Naruto said and began attempting to fill in the gaps. "To what?" She already knew the answer she wanted to hear.

Naruto stood up and dived into his next bowl of ramen. Even though most of his face was obscured by the bowl everyone could tell he was blushing.

Sakura leaned in close but far enough away to avoid ramen broth drops. "Have you said anything to her yet?"

Naruto put down the bowl and his blush had mostly faded. "Said anything about what? What are you talking about?"

Sakura crossed her arms. "I can tell what you were about to say Naruto, we women have a sense for this kind of thing."

Naruto was desperately trying to change the subject. Denial was failing him so he resorted to insult. "Sasuke, you're the only one who would know if that's true so could you tell me?"

Sakura was furious and slammed a fist hard into Naruto's skull. "WHAT WAS THAT?!?!?!"

Despite having just been pounded, or perhaps because of it, Naruto went on. "Well look at the evidence. You've got no chest and a horribly violent disposition. All traits for us guys!"

She unleashed a barrage of fists into Naruto before launching him away. She quickly spun and sat back down at the diner, despite not having anymore food.

Sasuke had watched the entire exchange and was surprised to find he felt very protective and proud of Sakura. After she sat back down he felt like he should do something but couldn't quite think of what. Kakashi noticed his plight and started flipping pages in his book. One of the things he liked most about this newest novel was that it was illustrated at certain points. He found the picture he was looking for and turned the book around so Sasuke could see it. It depicted a couple hugging. Kakashi turned the book back around and flipped back to where he had been reading.

Sasuke was uneasy. He couldn't see Sakura's face but from the periodic trembling motion he could see she was crying or very near to it. He raised his arm slowly and cautiously, and lad it across her shoulders. She didn't react. Sasuke took a breath. He used the arm on her shoulders to pull her towards him and swung his other arm around her body. Her face was in his chest and he just sat there for a minute. After a moment of that she pulled herself up and placed her head on his shoulder. "Sakura."

She pulled away from him with a smile. "Thank you Sasuke-kun."

She noticed that Naruto was sitting next to her again. "Sorry, Sakura-chan."

The four of them sat together in silence for a few more minutes before the old man shooed them off for taking up the seats of paying customers. The paid and thanked him and left. Kakashi quickly disappeared leaving the three alone again.

Sakura hadn't completely forgiven Naruto for what he said but her initial rage had simmered down. "So, where's Hinata been?"

Naruto put his hands behind his head. "Oh, she's been training non-stop with Neji and her dad. She's doing real good too. She even said they want her back in the clan."

"Of course they want her back in the clan; they need to protect the Byakugan. If she were to ever stray too far, or try to pass the kekkei genkai on outside the clan then they would either have her killed or imprisoned against her will." Sasuke said this with absolute conviction.

Sakura couldn't believe it though. "No way, they couldn't do tat could they?"

Sasuke shook his head. "Not only could they do it they would. The same was true in the Uchiha clan, though none ever spoke of it. It doesn't make for good dinner conversation. But I remember it happening once. She attempted to elope with an outsider and the clan ordered for tracker-nin to be dispatched and kill her. They did. They even had to kill the man because he got in the way."

Sakura couldn't believe it. "That's horrible."

"That's protection."

"That's wrong. When I'm Hokage I'll stop it all from happening." Naruto had been clenching his fist up until when he said this.

Sasuke laughed a little. "Don't be so foolish Naruto. Who do you think was Hokage when the story I just told you took place?"

Sakura thought about it. "The Sandaime was Hokage before we were even born. But…"

Naruto was locked in just as much disbelief as Sakura. Sasuke continued. "Yes, it was Sarutobi. You have to understand Naruto; The Hokage is more of a ceremonial position then anything else. Yes, they have influence, but it is the elders or the feudal lord who really make the decisions. You think you can change that?"

Naruto wasn't about to be deterred. "Yes. I will."

Sasuke and Sakura nodded at him.

* * *

Tsunade stared out the window, only now she was by herself. She looked at the village she would have to protect. She thought of the lives that would be lost. She thought of how little time they had until the battle arrived. "Things will move quickly now. Orochimaru, this time I will kill you."

* * *

A/N: That's right people I just hit the fast forward button on my faniverse space time continuum remote. 


	53. Proposal

A/N: Read your special order extra super mega fluffy chapter. I'd throw in wuffy but that costs extra.

Reviews:

Knight: Always love getting a new reader. And yes, I know the whole Tobi Obito theory. Here's the bomb guys. In my fanfic I will not state that is fact. Honestly I think it's pretty accurate, but recent actual Naruto chapters have thrown this into doubt and I like to break away from the crowd. You will see more of Tobi but I promise I won't reveal any kind of definite identity unless I change the story before I write it which has happened before. In other words, you guys have no idea what I will write. And yet again I like my job.

Avatar: Verrrrryyyyy soon. This chapter is the FLUFFY HAPPY FEELINGS Chapter.

Zeek: My chapters are shorter then 10 words? We have drastically different definitions of the word "word". And I think I just exacerbated the problem. Anyway thanks for saying that. I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this but being an author is what I really want to do with my life. Of course I plan to be the kind of author that actually gets paid for what he writes. As for the Naruto insulting Sakura thing I guess I went a little overboard, but he really, Really, REALLY didn't want to talk about it. I mean REALLLLLLLLLLY didn't want to talk about it. Which is odd because it's the subject of this entire chapter.

* * *

Chapter 53: Proposal 

Naruto was back at that store. And this time he was determined to be more then a window shopper.

The past few months had been more then just training. In order to prepare the village for the coming battle the Hokage had been sending Ninja on missions continuously, sharpening their skills and bringing money to the village. The money would help buy supplies, but the missions brought something else to leaf. The Hokage was gaining favors from other nations and hidden villages, promises of future assistance.

Naruto had been on his fair share of missions, several of which were by himself and A class or higher. He had saved up money from each just for today, yet the idea still terrified him. He thought about other things that scared him. He would be fine against an army of sound ninja. He could stand up to an S class criminal. He could fight against monsters the size of buildings. And buying a simple thing like this terrified him. With quite sudden shock he realized he was in the store.

The owner looked him over questioningly. "May I help you?"

One big gulp later Naruto said what he needed to say.

* * *

Sakura was on her way to the Hokage's office to report for a mission. Though her real purpose was to make sure the mission didn't require leaving before tomorrow, which is when Sasuke would be returning from his own mission. 

Sasuke had been assigned to a special task force made up of ANBU and other Jonin who he was leading in small and surgical assaults against Orochimaru's forces. It was getting harder and harder to locate them, now that Orochimaru had abandoned most of his facilities to negate Sasuke's preexisting knowledge. Still, his experience made the assaults possible.

Sakura was waiting for her partners to arrive. Partners was a generous term however, as she was ranked high enough to refer to them as subordinates. Ino arrived. "Well hello there forehead, what are you doing here?"

Sakura smiled. "Assignment at two pm today right?" Sakura watched with distinct pleasure as Ino despaired. "I'd show a little more respect to your group's leader." After Sakura was done subjugating Ino a few ninja walked out of the office. Sakura and Ino walked in taking their place standing before Tsunade. Though that was difficult for Sakura to do once she saw who was there. "Sasuke?!"

Sasuke nodded to her. While Tsunade put down some paperwork and looked at the two Kunoichi before her. "Sasuke's unit is returning on schedule. He came ahead to inform us that they have some wounded and are requesting additional medical support. As such I am dispatching you two along with Shizune. Sasuke will lead you to his squads. You leave now."

Sakura didn't question her orders; she just left the room followed closely by Ino, Shizune and Sasuke. As they left Chouji and Shikamaru's dads entered past them to get their own missions.

* * *

Hinata walked in and lay down on the small couch. She had only returned from a mission earlier that morning and was now walking in after debriefing. Compared to the earth which had been her bed for the last week the couch was very comfortable. She didn't quite understand how comfortable it was until she felt a hand on her shoulder shaking her. She turned her head and saw Naruto. She looked at the wall clock and saw that an hour had gone by in an instant. 

Realizing that, Hinata shot up and rubbed her face, which had a mark on it from a crease in the couch. "Ah, Naruto. When's your next mission?"

Naruto smiled. In the recent months this had become a common question between everyone. Then he remembered what was in his pocket and panicked. "AHHHH-uhhhhh-wha-wha-well-uhhhhhh-I'm hungry I'm gonna grab something to eat." He half ran half stumbled into the kitchen while laughing away his nervousness. He grabbed a cup of instant ramen out of the cupboard and placed it on the sink.

Hinata had moved into the kitchen and was standing next to Naruto. When he noticed her he freaked out again. "Naruto is there something wrong? Is there something you need to tell me?"

Naruto put the noodles in the microwave and turned it on. "No nothing Hinata. Hehehehe." He quickly opened the microwave having realized he hadn't added any water.

Hinata was not assured. She reached out and grabbed his hand. "What's going on?" He was trembling

'_CALM DOWN!!!! Just like earlier today. Hordes of murderous invading ninja. Very large sharp weapons flying at me from every side. Deadly traps that make it impossible to move without exploding.'_ He had calmed down considerably. He reached into his pocket and grabbed them to make sure they were still there. _'Okay, moment of truth. Why am I so freaked out to do this? Just pull em out and ask.' _Naruto grabbed the small objects from out of his pocket and pulled them out, laying his hand flat so that Hinata could see. "Auk!"

Hinata heard him choke before she looked down at his hand. When she looked down at the hand she herself almost choked. There were two small silver rings. She stared at them. Then she stared up at Naruto's face.

'_Alright I choked once, but I can get this out.' _He took a deep breath. "Hinatawilyumaryme?"

Hinata took a moment. She breathed, focusing on each breath. "sss." It was an incomprehensible mumble. "ess." Still too quiet. "YES!" As soon as she said it Naruto was kissing her.

A few minutes of solid kissing later Naruto and Hinata sat down at the table with the rings between them, neither of them could say anything at first. Hinata stared at the rings. "Are you sure Naruto?"

Naruto was looking at the rings too but he tore his eyes from them to look at Hinata's face. Hinata's pretty face. "Yeah. Well, no. I mean…uhhh… I know I want you to be happy, and I want to be with you, and well, this is what people do right?"

Hinata considered for a moment that they were way to young for something of this magnitude. She also considered all the other obstacles in their way. "It won't be easy."

Naruto smiled. "Hard I can take. I can do whatever it takes to make this work. I'll talk with your dad. I'll pay for a ceremony. I'll do whatever it takes."

"My father. Today." He looked at her confused. "Let's talk with him today, while we're both here." She was standing up. She walked towards the exit. Naruto quickly getting up and following after her. Naruto caught up with her outside and grabbed hold of her hand to walk the entire way with her.

* * *

They arrived at the Hyuga grounds and walked in unobstructed. Hinata led the way to where she knew her father would be, training Hanabi. When they arrived she stopped. Ready to wait for him to acknowledge them. 

Hiashi didn't take long. Hanabi was already exhausted. "That's enough. Rest for a while Hanabi." After he helped her up and sent her away he turned to his other daughter. "Hinata. Naruto."

Hinata bowed slightly and Naruto followed her example. When they were standing straight up again they both froze, unsure of how to continue. Hiashi waited patiently. Naruto finally stepped forward, still tightly holding Hinata's hand. "Hiashi-san, I have proposed to your daughter."

Hiashi was wide eyed for a moment, but he caught himself. He sat down and beckoned for them to do the same. "Naruto Uzumaki. You must understand, the Kekkei Genkai of the Hyuga clan must be protected, and as such marriages become complicated. I would like above all else to see my daughter happy, and I must make sure that you can do both."

Naruto knew he didn't have to worry about making Hinata happy; it was being good enough for the clan that had him silently panicking. "Yes sir."

"First I must ask a very difficult question, and in doing so I must break an oath made with the Sandaime Hokage. How much does my daughter know about the Kyuubi no Yoko?" Hiashi thought that this was the most controversial aspects of Naruto and he sought to quell it as quickly as possible.

Naruto gulped. "Everything. She has known since the beginning. If you want to know anything, you can ask me."

Hiashi nodded. "I'm sorry, but you must understand my worry." Naruto nodded. "Thank you. I know that you are a jonin, is that how you plan to support yourself?"

Naruto clenched his fist in his lap. "Yes, I will be a ninja forever, but, someday I will be recognized as Hokage. I promise you."

Hiashi remembered that he had heard about this boy's ambitions. Looking at him, and after having heard of all the progress he had made it didn't seem so far fetched to believe he could do it. "I see. Ambitious. Hinata, I understand that you wish to marry him as well, or you would not be here. What I want to know is, are you sure?"

Hinata went tense. "More then anything."

Hiashi smiled. He had never seen his daughter so confident before Naruto had become such an important part of her life. Her bravery, her strength, it all seemed to stem from him. He would have to be a monster to deny them. He stood up and walked to the sitting Naruto. He patted the young man on the head. "I will allow it. I will have you both removed from active duty until the ceremony. One week from today."

The two of them fought their excitement down and bowed deeply before Hiashi. "Thank you."

* * *

By the time they reached the troops it was night, and so Sasuke ordered them to fall in for sleep. Sakura, Ino, and Shizune got to work treating the wounded, and the three of them quickly finished and told their respective patients to sleep. After it was all done Ino decided to take a perimeter post to give one of the other squad members a break. Shizune was getting to work checking the minor injuries so that everyone could travel at top speed at day break. Sakura wanted to talk with Sasuke. 

She approached him as he was sitting in front of the fire. The fire was also surrounded by the ANBU squad leaders that had been placed under Sasuke. They seemed to be discussing the mission. Sakura sat down in a gap to Sasuke's left. One of the captains turned to her and removed his mask to talk more clearly. "We really can't thank you ladies enough for showing up out here."

Sakura nodded and looked around. "There are five ANBU captains here, but I only counted nine ninja under you all. Was it really that bad?"

Sasuke was staring into the fire but answered her. "The first few strikes were perfect. I thought I could stay ahead of Orochimaru's tricks, but he surprised me during the last attack. We were assaulted by several of Jugo's surviving victims, so it got bloody quickly. We slaughtered them all and I ordered the retreat before Orochimaru checked the results of the battle. Besides the casualties the mission was an excellent success, we achieved well above what we had initially planned."

Sakura thought it was harsh how he could just dismiss the lives that were lost, but she remembered that they were on a mission with ANBU. These people were a little more accepting of these things. "I'm just glad we were able to save some of them before it was too late."

Another one of the ANBU captains nodded to her. "Yes thank you. Though our enemies looked like mindless beasts they deliberately aimed for our own medic-nin, they were the first to go. We had no choice but to call for aid."

"At least we were able to severely hinder the sound, we lost six men but they lost thirty." This ANBU captain was quite jubilant.

The ANBU captain seated directly to Sasuke's right stood. "I will make one last check around our perimeter and then get some sleep. The rest of you should consider getting some rest as well; we'll be making our way back to Konoha tomorrow." The other captains deferred to him, so Sakura thought he must have been highly respected. There was also something familiar about him. "Sakura, you too should sleep some."

As soon as he left the other ANBU began to disperse, leaving Sakura and Sasuke alone. Sakura saw that the fire was beginning to die down a little. "I was looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. I was glad to see you today."

Sasuke didn't look at her; this was still tough for him. But he was getting better at being soft with his words. "I was looking forward to getting home as well."

Behind her Sakura heard a loud noise and saw that another small wooden cabin had sprung up. The ANBU from before was standing in front of it and went in. "OH! That was Yamato! I didn't recognize him with the mask. I guess he built the cabins for everyone here right?"

Sasuke was still staring at the slowly shrinking fire. "Yes. But it was his other skills that made him useful. You should get some sleep." Sakura had desperately tried to hide her yawn but he had noticed it. She didn't fight against it, so she curled up in a sleeping bag a little ways away from the fire. Sasuke looked at her. "You could get Yamato to make you a cabin."

She shook her head into her small pillow. "Don't need it, I like sleeping outside."

Sasuke went to sleep after he was certain she was out.

* * *

The next morning everyone woke up with little encouragement and Yamato took down his cabins. They took off to Konoha aiming to arrive before two pm. 

When they got back they immediately went to debriefing at the Hokage's office. As they were finishing Tsunade asked Sasuke, Sakura, and Yamato to remain behind. "You three have been removed from the active duty list for one week." The three of them looked at her in confusion. "While there are a number of important missions to be completed in that time I have a large ninja force to carry them out, and you three have been invited to a very important wedding. The heir of the Hyuga clan has a husband." Both Sakura and Sasuke got it immediately, though it was Sakura who reacted most vibrantly. She quickly ran out to go talk with them.

* * *

She was trembling uncontrollably. She wouldn't have been surprised if the only thing holder up was Sakura's hands on her shoulders. Sakura was telling her something about how wonderful this day was for her and how happy she was for her, but all Hinata could hear was a loud thumping noise repeating itself over and over again. The thumping was deafening and Hinata was beginning to get a headache. She put a hand to her chest and found that it was her own hearts pounding that she was hearing. Sakura was suddenly shaking her. She heard the word "okay" and so she grabbed hold of Sakura's arms. "I'm okay. I just need to sit down." 

Sakura watched Hinata fall into a nearby chair. She laughed a little and sat down nearby Hinata. "Can you believe it?"

Hinata looked at what she was wearing. A white Kimono. She looked in a mirror and saw her face accented by make up. Then she looked at Sakura who was in a formal kimono and whose face had also been accented with makeup. She looked at the room she was in. A resting room in the Hyuga family's private shrine. It all added up. She was definitely here to get married to Naruto. "Did I just faint?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, I can't even remember the last time you fainted. Why?"

Hinata looked down at her hands. "I keep feeling like I should be fainting in this situation. I really should be."

Sakura gently slapped Hinata on the back. "No, it's a good thing that you can stay conscious. Naruto doesn't want to get married to you while you're sleeping."

Hinata laughed, and was finally able to get back on her feet.

Sakura left to go get her seat among the friends seating area. Hinata walked to where she met Naruto. He was standing there in a black and blue men's kimono. He was looking at her with a smile. She reached him and stood by his side.

They turned and walked into the main area of the shrine. To their right were several members of the Hyuga clan, though Hinata's immediate family entered the room after her and Naruto. Naruto had asked Tsunade and Jiraiya to take the positions of his immediate family, and other guests who were already gathered in the main shrine included Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, Yamato, and all of the other ninja who he had been Genin with, all gathered on the left.

Hinata and Naruto walked to the altar. Naruto wasn't really paying attention to what the priest was saying. He didn't really know how this whole thing was supposed to go. He had learned only to tell when he was cued to read an oath about honoring his wife. When the cue came he read it, and Hinata read something similar in reference to him. She then turned to face him so he did the same thing. This part he remembered. He gently grabbed her hand and put the ring on her finger, and then allowed her to do the same thing to him.

For the rest Naruto just followed Hinata's lead as well as the instructions the priest gave out from time to time. After something with sticks and a ceremonial drinking of Sake. After that, they left.

They left the shrine and went into a gathering room within the Hyuga's massive estate where the reception was being held. People congratulated them. People celebrated with them. People hugged tem. People kissed their cheeks. People started to leave.

* * *

After everything was done, Hiashi led Naruto and Hinata to a home just for them within the estate. It was the biggest place Naruto had ever lived. It had an entryway, a kitchen, two bathrooms, a bedroom and it was very close to the training courtyard. The architecture was distinctly more traditional, and Naruto loved it. He turned to Hinata and asked her "Is this what you grew up with?" 

She nodded, and he noticed that she hadn't looked around the home at all; her eyes were fixed on him. "Naruto, did I faint?"

He smiled. "No, why do you ask?"

She wasn't blushing, but she felt like she should be. She was moving toward him. "Sometimes when I used to faint, I would dream of this. All of this, with you."

His smile was gentle. Naruto walked forward until he was right in front of Hinata. "I've never dreamt of anything like this, so I know I'm not dreaming." He reached forward and pinched her cheek.

She recoiled away from him and rubbed the red patch on her cheek. "Naruto why did you do that? That hurt."

Naruto smiled his wide toothy grin. "See? You didn't wake up. It's not a dream." He moved forward and kissed her. "Now c'mon, we have something we need to do, what was the word Ero-sennin used? Consumer? Ahh something like that"

Hinata knew what word he was thinking of, and she knew what he was thinking. She was fine with that idea. Most especially now that it was with her husband.

* * *

A/N: I would have added a lemon, but the chapter was just too damn long already. Sorry Rasengan. Maybe some other time. Also, I actually looked up what a japanesse wedding goes like to write that part. Anyway in the words of avatarofrage: "the 'Oh god the Humanity, I can't feel my leg' arc is about to begin." 


	54. Last Chances

A/N: I decided to write up this chapter on a laptop for a change since I had acess to it. I also had acess to the bigscreen TV while writing for the same reasons as the laptop being available. I think of it like this: I did the same amount of work in the same amount of time with a bigger TV and a smaller computer. So nothing really changed. Oh By the way I added the obligatory married couple lemon to this chapter.

Reviews:

Ryuu: Mapquest what? You don't know I live at 12345 Not real street, Hollywood, Florida.

Lovecomes: I decided that a wedding night lemon was too obvious.

BlackHaze: Yeah people always give Hiashi a bad guy role cuz it's so easy to justify being an asshole. I'd like to think that after nearly losing his daughter cuz he was being intolerable would be a lesson for the guy. Plus, he's gotta respect the confidence and power Naruto's helped her get.

Kagome: Thanks for reading, and thank you for the constructive criticism. I kinda realized that too and the big word count drops in later chapters. By the time you get here you should have seen some of that. If you (or anyone else for that matter) have any more criticism I'd love to hear it. The only way I can improve my work is for the readers to point out where I f#k up. I mean hell Useful changed the entire course of the story with one freaking review. I wanna hear some pointers.

Dante: thanks.

Zeek: I wasn't offended, I don't get offended. I was just making fun of your typo (that was a typo right?) Any way "Tucker" (god please tell me someone else knows what I'm referencing there) wish is granted.

Rasengan: No promises.

* * *

Chapter 54: Last Chance

Naruto woke up and rolled out of his bed. His bladder called to be emptied, so he stood and walked to where the bedroom door was. He slammed his face into a wall that should not have been there. "OW!" He looked around and saw the strange surroundings that he nonetheless recognized as his new bedroom.

The noise woke up Hinata, who looked around and locked onto Naruto. "Eh? Naruto? Are you okay?"

Naruto rubbed his forehead where he had impacted with the wall and turned to face Hinata. "Uh? Yeah, I just forgot where I was. Hehe"

Hinata smiled. He had not changed at all despite everything that had happened yesterday. Everything that had happened yster…

Hinata collapsed back into the bed, and Naruto shot over to check on her. He discovered, with a laugh, that she had fainted. The way she had fallen onto the bed with her body bent over and her arms curled in front of her was cute to Naruto. He looked around the room and found where the door was. He could come back for Hinata after going to the bathroom.

With his bladder satisfied he came back to the bedroom and shook Hinata gently. She woke up and looked around, stopping on Naruto. "What happened?"

Naruto kept his smile. "You fainted. Better today then yesterday right?"

With his wife awake Naruto walked to the closet and marveled in two things: how much bigger it was then her old one and how different it's contents were. "I'm going to need to go back home and get my jumpsuits."

Hinata was standing next to him wrapped in a bed sheet. "These are the traditional style robes worn by the Hyuga family."

Naruto looked at them in disgust. "Yeah I know, Neji started wearing these too. I don't think it will go good on me."

Hinata giggled.

* * *

Now that ceremonies were over Hinata could finally give Naruto a full tour of the Hyuga's estate. It was small compared to the whole of Konoha, but Naruto was still amazed that just one family owned it all. He was happy to see that he was also not the only person without the Byakugan living here, but he was equally distressed to see that all of these other normal eyed people were women. Hinata explained it to him. "Most women born to the clan don't get married, instead dedicating their time fully to being kunoichi or to serving the clan. That was originally my goal as well, but…"

Naruto smiled. "I changed that didn't I?"

Hinata shook her head. "When I was old enough to understand what the heiress to the clan was obliged to do, it entailed marriage to carry on the main line of the family."

Naruto scratched his head. "Uhhhh, okay. Then why did you train as a ninja?"

Hinata took a turn and Naruto followed. "I also have the duty of passing on my family's secret techniques, so I had to be trained in using them. It was why my father was so disappointed in me when I was younger. He was afraid his family would be removed from the head position because his heir would be unable to train future generations. Hanabi was advancing at the normal rate, so she was favored over me."

They had gone full circle trough the estate and were back at his and Hinata's home. "So what will happen to you now?"

Hinata grabbed Naruto's arm, bringing her closer then when she had just been holding his hand. "I will learn all the lessons my father has to offer, and then I will teach them to our children." She felt Naruto lock up by her side. It only made her hold him all the tighter, as if her were suddenly going to run away from her. "Someday. When I'm older." She felt Naruto relaxing a bit and her grip relaxed as well.

Naruto shook his head to clear it. _'I don't want to shoot her down like that but I'm not ready to raise kids. I wouldn't even know how. Gotta spin off of this change the subject. And not how I changed it with Sakura.'_ "Uhhhhhh, Hinata. This outfit really doesn't work for me."

She knew full well what he was doing and it didn't bother her. That talk could wait for another day. She had his arm, and that was enough for now.

* * *

The recall was beginning. Everyone knew it, but just like the war itself no one talked about it. Jonin and Chunin were being sent on fewer and fewer missions, while Genin were being given more and more c-class escort missions outside of the village. The message was clear, and people were picking up on it. But much to Tsunade's pride the people did not react with fear. Perhaps all those that had been scared of the coming war already left in the fall. Now those that remained even into the onset of spring were showing their bravery and determination.

Still, getting the Genin on as many long range missions as possible would lower the Genin casualties in the battle. As for the people in the village, their safety was priority one. The basic plan that everyone in the village knew as a good one. The primary objective of evacuating the civilians to a hidden safe area, and then the secondary objective of counterattacking. It would work well, even if Orochimaru's forces knew about it they would never be able to get close enough to the village without warning to harm more then a small number of civilians.

ANBU were patrolling in he woods surrounding the village continuously. More ANBU patrolled the city walls. They were as prepared as they could be. That was the most Tsunade could ask for.

* * *

"_Is everything ready?" _The voice of the Akatsuki leader rang out in the cave.

"_Yes, as per your specifications, Pein." _Orochimaru hissed.

"_No to be rude, Leader, Orochimaru-san, but isn't anyone else worried about the fact that they seem to know the attack is coming? Shouldn't we change our plans?" _This was Tobi's suggestion.

The image of Pein shook it's head. _"They know that we are coming, they do not know how it will happen. The element of surprise is still ours."_

Itachi's image raised it's head slightly. _"Konoha's response to attack is limited to a single strategy based solely on protecting civilians."_

Orochimaru nodded. _"Yes, noble, but it plays into your hands well. The one you're after will not retreat with the squalor. He will charge right to front lines. Then you can have him and I can have…"_

Deidara cut him off. _"Don't forget that you have a roll to play in all of this. The Uchiha brat is yours only after you've aided in extracting the demon."_

"_If I live long enough after we're done? Isn't that what you want to add at the end? Angry because you don't have the chance to fulfill your partner's wish?" _Orochimaru said this with the utmost of glee.

Deidara's image displayed his fury, making Pein all the more glad he had choosen to hold this meeting by projection rather then in person. Tobi was also angry, though the other members, particularly Kisame saw this as laughable. _"Give Deidara-sempai a chance and he'll blow you to smithereens Snake-freak!!!"_

Pein was not going to put up with it. _"Enough. I will not tolerate personal grudges. You all have ten days. You know where to be. And trust in this, should we fail I will personally destroy all of you."_

Pein's threat was enough to silence the meeting. The pause was broken only once Pein's image faded away, cueing the others to follow.

* * *

With the meeting over Kisame was freed to move. Itachi stood up as well, and the two of them began moving. Kisame's smile was wide. "First I need to destroy that guy in the green jumpsuit."

Itachi spoke to Kisame in his usuall cold demeanor. "Your clone underestimated him and failed, you should learn from his mistakes."

Kisame didn't seem to be paying attention though. "Yeah, and then the one who makes trees, I need to take him down as well. I guess I should also kill the one with the black animals. Wow, that's three Leaf Ninja I need to kill. Once that Kyuubi is sealed up I'll have to get to work. What about you Itachi. I know Orochimaru is obsessed with his revenge against him but we both know it's you the boy will be obsessed with fighting. How much stronger do you think he's gotten? He did defeat Orochimaru."

Itachi kept walking without reacting. "We'll see what happens."

"Hehehe, The same reaction as always."

* * *

Sasuke couldn't stand it. He was ready to face his brother. But now he had to wait. The missions had distracted him for some time, given him day to day goals to waste his time. But now Tsunade had removed him from the active duty list. The days stretched on now. Even training could do nothing for him. None of it mattered anymore, all that mattered was Itachi, and killing him.

Sakura noticed his attitude, and it worried her. "Sasuke, if anything's wrong, you can tell me. Anything."

She was there, like she always was. It was true he had been opening up to her more. In the past months he realized with shame that he actually did miss her on long missions. He enjoyed seeing her when he got home. He enjoyed her company, her unrelenting care for him at all times. It was something he had never had before. But all the joy was ruined and hollow. He always saw his face. He always heard his words. _'If you want to kill me, despise me, hate me, and live a loathsome life…'_

Sasuke had not responded to her, and she could see his face cringing which meant he was going through bad memories. It was a face she knew well. Experience had also told it her it was usually best not to try and pry when he wore that face. Rather, waiting patiently was the best way to get a response.

He snapped back to the present, and saw that Sakura was just sitting there patient as always. "I'm sorry Sakura. Nothing's wrong I was just thinking that's all."

Sakura weighed the options. She felt like taking a risk, so a little prying couldn't hurt. "What were you thinking about? Us?"

Sasuke's face tightened up again. "Yes, in a sense. But more about…"

"Itachi." Her voice was in unison with his. "That's what you always think about you know? But you never tell me what it's all about."

Sasuke turned his head to the side. "Busybody." He watched Sakura's comic reaction to his jab. "He once said to me that if I wanted to defeat him I would have to spend my entire life hating him. That I would have to do noting but hate him. That I could feel nothing but hate for him. That is why I've made the choices I've made up until now. I based my whole life on that belief."

Sakura heard it all. She could believe it. "He's wrong you know. Just look at Naruto."

Sasuke nodded. "Yes, but I still don't know for sure."

Sakura thought of something. "I still remember my promise. I won't interfere with your fight."

Sasuke looked up at her. The odd mixture of affection and self disgust resurfaced. He had to do something. He had to get control of his own feelings. If not to defeat Itachi then at least for the sake of being a shinobi. "Sakura. If I defeat him, I will have fulfilled my only goal in life. After that, I'll try to be for you what you have always tried to be for me." Sasuke felt relieved to finally put his emotional state out in the open. He got up and left the room, leaving behind a very stunned Sakura.

Sakura remained stunned for a very long time.

* * *

Naruto spent the entire day after changing into something more comfortable meeting members of Hinata's family in person. He was quickly making a mental list of the people who were less tolerable of his presence then others. There was one of the main house members in particular that showed an immediate liking to Naruto, referring to him as Yondaime's legacy at one point. There was of course also one of the older main house members who referred to him as kyuubi brat.

The whole time his wife was by his side, introducing him to her family and warning her about the disgruntled people before they got to them. Every few minutes Naruto had to go over this fact again. _'I married Hinata.' _It was difficult for him to believe. _'I married Hinata.'_ Even though he had been planning it for months, it was still unreal. _'I married Hinata!'_

"We're back again." Hinata said to her husband, gaining his attention. They were standing back at the front of their home after a whole day of talking with any Hyuga within the estate. The sun was setting and they were both pretty tired from all the walking. "Naruto why did you do all this?"

He looked at her. "What?"

She didn't look at him but rather at the house. "Why did you propose?"

Naruto also turned to the house. He scratched the back of his head. "Because one of us could die. I mean, killing me is what they're after. And I wanted to make sure I was married to you before I was dead so…"

Hinata was barely holding back the tears as she hugged him. She pressed her face into his chest.

Naruto grabbed her arm and pulled her inside the building. She squeaked and questioned it, but couldn't do either once the door was slid shut because Naruto's lips had smashed into hers. There was no need or even desire to fight against it so she returned it full force, opening her mouth and letting their tongues hit. She pulled off and breathed. "Again?"

Her voice was trapped between desire and shock. Naruto pulled her into him placing his face above hers. "Yeah. Are you okay with it?"

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him even tighter against her. "Anything for you, my husband"

* * *

()Lemon!()Lemon!()Lemon!()Lemon!()Lemon!()Lemon!()Lemon!()Lemon!()Lemon!()Lemon!()Lemon!()Lemon!()Lemon!()Lemon!()Lemon!()

* * *

Now her voice sounded hot and heavy. He dipped his head down in order to get their lips together again. They were still right by the front door, so Naruto began pushing to the side so they could move towards the bedroom. Step by step they swung their way into the room, laughing and smiling when they needed to breath. They finally made it into the bedroom, and the clothes started to drop. First jackets from both of them. Then shirts. Pants dropped. Naruto didn't have to try very hard to get the boxers off and he turned to face the fully nude Hianta.

She moved forward to him and started kissing him again. He pushed her face away and looked at her. "So pretty." Her blush deepened. He wrapped his arms around her bare body and pressed it into his own. He almost felt like he was going to burst into flame the heat was so intense.

She was used to this feeling now, used to the nudity and the contact and the pressure and all of it. And she loved it. She felt his hands reach down to her ass and she squeaked into his mouth, causing him to grin through the kiss. His hands slid down to her thighs while she wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders. She jumped and he lifted. She was supported by his hands and balanced by her arms. He hefted her wit over to the wall by the headboard of the bed, propping her against it for more support.

She opened her eyes and turned her head to break their lips apart. "Like this?" She asked this because she could feel that he was close to her entrance in this position.

He stared into her eyes. "Is something wrong?"

She closed her eyes. "No, we've just never…ahh!"

He didn't even wait for her to finish before pulling her body down and pushing himself inside her. She glared at him, or at least tried to glare at him but couldn't in good conscience. He used his arms to hold her to the wall while he moved his legs and hips to thrust in and pull out. She involuntarily tightened her arms around his neck, pulling him into another deep kiss. The kiss was made more powerful by the continuous moans and grunts they would add too it.

They finally pulled their faces apart only for Hinata to tighten her arms even more, placing her head on Naruto's shoulder. He turned his head to the side and began kissing and sucking on her neck. Her neck was always important to him, as he had many time placed marks there which were covered by Hinata's jacket collar. He smiled as he bit down into the soft flesh above her collar bone and marked it. She cried out from the pain. In retaliation she dug her fingers into Naruto's shoulders and back, but her nails were trimmed down so she could not leave claw marks.

Naruto kept up the pace with his thrusts. Hinata tightened her legs around his waist. It was growing hotter between them. She loosened her arms enough to bring their faces together again. The kisses were wild, animalistic, rapid and without lasting depth. Naruto was also picking up speed. Naruto turned his face down pressing his forehead to Hinata's, the thrusts causing some friction between the two surfaces. His eyes were closed and his mouth hung open exhaling heat from his body. "Hinata…Hinata…I…Hinata…"

She opened her eyes long enough to see their bodies. "I know…I know…Naruto…"

He brought his face back up and kissed her nose. She brought her face back up as well so that he could reach her lips. They began rapidly pecking at each other's lips, gasping and breathing between each contact. Naruto pressed in hard and brought his mouth full against Hinata's. She pressed her tongue against his as it invaded her mouth. She felt the warmth in her body, the warmth from Naruto's release. Inside her as it had been last night, and several of the nights before that.

She pulled her lips away and looked into Naruto's eyes. They were waxed over with his pleasure, and his arms began to drop allowing her to put her feet back on the ground. Naruto shook himself awake and bent down, picking Hinata up bridal style and kissing her again. He carried her to the bed and placed her down gently. He crawled over her and looked down. "I was trying to say I love you."

She smiled. "I know you do Naruto."

* * *

'

* * *

A/N: That's right, time is almost up. The set up is complete. The pawns are moving. Very soon, the big pieces are gonna get onto the board. Are you ready?"


	55. The Begining of the End

A/N: The longest chapter I've ever written, and if the title doesn't tell you what's going on then you haven't been paying very close attention. It may start slow, but trust by the end at least some of you will be saying "did he really just write that?" Anyway by the next chapter (not this one) it should be fairly obvious but I have decided to work Madara into the story. And no, this will not conflict with Tobi's previous activities in my fic. I'm that good.

Reviews:

Animegirl: someone may die. But times up. I might take your suggestion of another Sasusaku lemon, if they survive that is.

Rasengan: Of course you do.

Zeek: Foreplay: They just went for it, that's pretty much all these couples ever do in my story. Typo thing: you said my chapters were "10 words long" in one of your reviews. Tucker: Go watch Red Vs. Blue if you want to find out, it's a hilarious Halo machinima. 300: Never saw it, but I'm going to try and focus in on smaller fights after this chapter. Itachi: I promise you this, he will be fighting Sasuke. Pein: Yes very badass. Madara: see above. The End?: Yes. But not before a few epilogue chapters. I will be giving it a good ending. Please do not automatically equate good to happy though. I think I covered everything.

Dragonman: Unfortunately the vice-versa happens to be true.

* * *

Chapter 55: The Beginning of the End

Two weeks later.

* * *

The ANBU was hidden in a tree, watching the forest and observing every tiny movement around him. Then he saw the big movement that he dreaded. Ninja, at least 8 of them, moving right at him. The ANBU wasted no time turning to run back to the village to sound the alarms. As he ran and jumped across the trees he felt something was wrong. With a display of amazing reflexes he narrowly dodged the swing of an arm right in front of him. The ninja that had swung was a sound nin. Despite his dodge there was little hope for surviving this encounter. There were already four more ninja surrounding him. He had been trained for this situation, but he did not enjoy the prospect. Before any of the enemies could make a move he threw a kunai straight up, through the trees. The sound ninja attacked.

* * *

The explosion was visible from the village gates. The protocol had been enacted. A single kunai equipped with an exploding note and red powder to give it color. Within moments the alarm was raised. Any and all Ninja near the wall headed there immediately to repel invaders, while detachments began herding the citizens to the Hokage monument.

From the wall there was still no sign of movement. But they were all tense.

* * *

"Hokage-sama! The alarm along the wall has been raised, we are already leading civilians to the shelters."

Tsunade lifted her head off her desk and rubbed her eyes. As she listened to him her eyes bulged. "Right, I want every Jonin and Chunin on the move now. I grant full authority to break into their homes to get them up. MOVE IT!" The ANBU rushed away. Tsunade cracked her neck and knuckles.

* * *

The ANBU that weren't positioned at the wall began spreading the word, though it didn't take long for the priority to become obvious. Anyone could see the civilians moving through the streets, and it could mean only one thing. Sakura and Sasuke saw this very thing and came to that conclusion. Sakura could see it just from the side of his face. There was a seething rage just barely contained by his cold demeanor.

* * *

Hiashi was awake already and could hear the commotion in the village. An ANBU landed in front of him. "Hiashi-sama, the alarm is being raised."

Hiashi nodded. "I see, I shall inform the clan."

The ANBU didn't leave immediately. "Sir, there is one more issue the Hokage instructed me to bring up with you. There are special instructions regarding Naruto Uzumaki. He is to report directly to the Hokage. Should he resist, then he must be taken there by force."

Hiashi nodded. With that the ANBU vanished. Hiashi walked through the estate telling everyone he came across to spread the word about the alarm. The path he took led him straight to his daughter's home. He knocked on the door and was met by his daughter moments later. "Hinata, the battle has begun." Though this was not the message the ANBU had delivered he knew it was more accurate, having seen that sound Ninja had begun attacking with his Byakugan. "Tell Naruto to come speak with me. Now."

Hinata stepped back away from her father. She turned and ran to the bedroom where Naruto was getting dressed. "Naruto, its stared. Father wants to speak with you."

Naruto zipped up his jacket. "Alright then."

The two of them walked back into Hiashi's view. "Naruto, I will accompany you to the Hokage's office. She has special instructions for you there. If you will not go peacefully I will force you."

Naruto smiled. "No need for that Hiashi-sama, I'll go hear what Tsunade-baa-chan has to say."

Hiashi stopped him as he was walking out of the house. "Byakugan." He searched the entire house for any clones but there were none. "Very well then. Hinata, As a Chunin you should go to the shelters to protect the civilians should anyone breach that far through our defenses."

She nodded and moved past her father to go to her position.

Naruto and Hiashi began moving at high speed toward the Hokage's office.

* * *

Kuchina wasn't at home, she must have already left for the shelters. Chouji took off toward them following the path she would have taken. This area of Konoha was already deserted so there was no one to get in his way.

* * *

Shikamaru was counting the people that were making it into the shelters, and collecting the reports on which areas had been evacuated. Iruka ran up to him. "Report?"

Iruka panted for a second. "We've cleared out all the gate border areas. Everyone's on their way now, so we can start the counter offensive. You want to inform the guests?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah I guess I can. Take over my position here." He saw someone else running up. "Ino! What do you have to report?"

Ino reached him. "I couldn't find Chouji and his girlfriend was still at her home. I evacuated the area."

"Did you see him on your way here?"

Ino shook her head. "I can go back and look for him though. He'll probably still be there."

Shikamaru looked into the crowd of people moving. "Alright do that and then both of you move toward the wall."

Ino and Iruka looked confused. Iruka addressed Shikamaru. "I thought it didn't matter how far into the village they got? Isn't that the whole point of moving the people to the shelters?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Normally yes, but akatsuki complicates things. They are our primary targets and we need to identify them as soon as possible. That's why we're fighting at the gate. Eventually the s-class ninja of Akatsuki will become disappointed with the slow progress and they will intervene, when we know where they are our own highly skilled Jonin can take them down."

They nodded in understanding. And Ino took off. Shikamaru handed Iruka his chart and leapt away to the top of the monument. There were several people waiting for him.

* * *

Tsunade was standing in her office behind her desk when Naruto walked in. Hiashi was soon to follow but she held up her hand. "Thank you Hiashi. You can go to your post now." Hiashi left without question. "Naruto, You stay right here."

Naruto Stood very still. "I thought you would do something like this. No."

Tsunade glared at him. "They are coming for you Naruto, we need to protect you. Part of being a good ninja is following orders."

"So you're ordering me to sit here and hide while my friends go out and die for me? That's an order I would never follow. This is my fight and I'm gonna fight it."

"Oh? And how are you going to get out of this room?" Jiraiya had slipped into the room at some point and was standing behind Naruto.

Naruto smiled wide. "I could fight my way past both of you."

Tsunade's face grew stricter. "Stop joking around Naruto. This is serious. You're life is on the line."

Naruto's face got serious too. "I KNOW THAT!!! BUT I DON'T CARE. The way I see it if I fight them all and I lose then they won't have any reason left to harm anyone in this village."

Jiraiya walked in front of Naruto. "They won't think that way, given the power of the Kyuubi those monsters wouldn't even hesitate to destroy this entire village. We won't risk you Naruto."

Naruto shook his head. "Thank you for trying to protect me. But I have to fight. I'm sorry. Bye." Naruto disappeared. Tsunade spun around looking out her window. And saw that he had reappeared on a nearby rooftop. From here she could barely see him holding onto a kunai.

Jiraiya also stopped and began to open the window to pursue, but Tsunade stopped him. "He's made his point clear. We just have to hope he's as strong as he thinks he is."

Jiraiya nodded. "I guess that we should look for our enemy then." Tsunade nodded in agreement, and they both left through the window.

* * *

"And we're in!!!" One particularly exuberant sound nin was cheering out after they had cleared the main defense at the wall.

A pale sound nin looked at his excited partner. "Shut up before you reveal our position."

A rather large member of their group looked around. "We don't seem to have any trailers. Could we take these off?"

One of the other sound nin had several piercings in is face. "I suppose we can drop the cover. Naruto would likely be more motivated to attack us in our true forms."

The twelve of them became surrounded by smoke. When it cleared the eight members of Akatsuki and four sound nin stood ready. Pein, now shown for what he was, looked at their surroundings again. "Find the Kyuubi's Jinchiuriki."

Orochimaru smiled. "That boy will undoubtedly run right to the battlefield. All we have to do is wait for him."

Pein shook his head. "I want to find him now. Spread out and search."

* * *

"Chouji!" Ino finally found him. She got his attention and stopped near him. "Don't worry. Kuchina is fine. She's in the shelters." He calmed down and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Listen up, we've got orders to report to the area near the gate where the fighting is happening. Let's get going."

Chouji nodded and they took off.

* * *

Sakura had her position at the gate, but didn't even have to do anything. Sasuke had disappeared and the ninja that were attacking didn't really try to advance. In fact it looked more like they were just trying to hold them there at the gate. Sakura realized sickly that she could be right with this assumption. If the attackers were only trying to keep the counterattack here at the gate then it meant that there was already a team inside the village trying to achieve the primary objective. "Naruto!"

Sakura ran towards the Hokage's office. Even if Naruto had run away from Tsunade's protection this was the path he would take. She had to find him.

* * *

The sound nin woke up to find himself hanging upside down from a tree, suspended by wires. Not a part of his body could move, and he reasoned that calling for help was pointless. Instead he looked around until he saw something. "Sasuke!"

Sasuke was standing in front of the sound nin, though his prisoner kept spinning around making his relative position temporary. "I see you remember my name. Then you should have some idea of what I can do to you if I don't get the answers I want. So I'll ask you once. Where is Itachi Uchiha?"

The prisoner squirmed. "I don't know anyone by that name. Everyone Orochimaru-sama sought council with were called Akatsuki."

"Then tell me your orders. Be very specific."

"We're just attacking the village AHHHHHHHNNNN!" Sasuke drove a Kunai into his leg. With the nw handle for leverage he spun the prisoner until he was facing Sasuke. "Alright we were supposed to force you to concentrate your forces at the border of the village. Something about performing the ritual right in the middle of Konoha. But that's all I know I swear."

"Not good enough. If they were going to infiltrate the village where would they do it?"

"I don't know. Please I don't know!"

Sasuke sighed. He pulled his kunai loose and walked away. "They are already in the village, and they are looking for Naruto. I know what to look for too."

* * *

"Sakura?"

"Naruto! It's a good thing I found you. They're coming, now!" Sakura reached Naruto and grabbed his shoulder. "The fighting is just a decoy they're coming here for you."

Naruto nodded. "I know. And I'm gonna beat them all to hell."

"Let's see it then." Sakura and Naruto turned to the side to see the third person. He was an average looking man with brown hair and piercings through his nose, ears, and lower lip. He wore the Akatsuki robe and an Amegakure headband. "Jinchiuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko. Naruto Uzumaki." He was approaching them slowly. "Don't fight against me. We would like to accomplish this as peacefully as possible. Your friend here doesn't have to die. Unless you would like to kill yourself for betraying your postion so easily."

Sakura cursed herself mentally, what he said was completely true. But Naruto would not go peacefully, both of them would help with that. Sakura ran forward, aiming a chakra infused fist right for the enemy's face. He pushed her arm away and moved himself to her side, so Sakura threw her leg into an arc to hit him. He moved out of range of her kick and rushed back in close to her ready to strike. He was intercepted by Naruto who grabbed his arm.

Pein ripped his arm away from Naruto and got away before Sakura could hit him. He was now a good 5 feet away and looking at his adversaries. "I aim to capture you quickly Naruto, to that end I will need to enlist some help." Pein suddenly dropped to his knees and slammed his hands into the roof they were standing on. Naruto and Sakura braced for an attack. None came. Instead Pein stood up as if nothing had happened. "I have never lost a fight, and this is the secret to that strength." The ceiling began to bulge and warp. "Though neither of you have seen this jutsu with your own eyes you've heard a description of it." The bulges grew larger and taller. "I booby trapped one of our bases with a copy of it." The bulges took the shape of humans and within moments looked like pure copies of Naruto and Sakura.

Sakura and Naruto readied themselves for combat. Sakura looked over the clones. "So, this is what he hit team Guy with."

Naruto smiled. "They could defeat their clones, I'm sure we can beat ours."

Pein laughed. "Normally yes. These clones perfectly match your skills, style, and even your chakra level. What they lack is the ingenuity and resourcefulness that makes someone human, so they will always lose in a one on one fight with the person they are based on. However, you didn't take into account that you still have to fight me."

Naruto tensed up, fully understanding how tough things could get.

* * *

Hinata was moving toward the wall. She went to the shelters and explicitly requested permission to be on the front lines. After a little pleading and arguing, the finally agreed to let her go. Now she needed to prove that she could fight. That all of her efforts had finally paid off. "Byakugan!" She scanned the gates and saw the battle as it was going on. The ANBU and other Chunin seemed to be fending well, but there seemed to be no end to the enemy in that area. Then she caught something. There was some fighting going on in the village. It looked like Naruto was fighting his own clones, but why would he be training now? Sakura was also there, also fighting a clone of herself. And then there was someone else, a man in a black robe. "Akatsuki is in the village?! I have to warn someone!"

Hinata looked around for someone who could do something. She inadvertently found three more people moving around in the same black robes. One of them was close to her position, but the other two were moving towards Naruto. She couldn't wait for help. Naruto and Sakura would be overwhelmed by that many enemies. She had to help them now.

* * *

Naruto's clones dissipated at the same time as his clone's clones. He had never planned to fight himself, and what he hated was that he seemed to be the best person for getting through his own defenses. His clone could match him clone for clone with the mass shadow clone jutsu. To make things worse, they could use each other's formulas for the leaping thunder god jutsu, which practically negated the ability. He was losing chakra just pounding away at a mirror image of his on movements.

Sakura wasn't doing much better. Her clone could dispel genjutsu jus as rapidly as she could. It could match her chakra enhanced strength point for point. There was no way to get around how evenly matched they were. The worst part of it all was knowing that at any moment the Akatsuki would attack them when their guard was down. He could choose to do it at any time, but he didn't. He was toying with them. A sudden attack from the clone sent her flying toward Naruto. She could tell from his face that he was the real one. She stood next to him, back to back. "Naruto we've only got one chance, we have to take him out, that should get rid of his jutsu."

Naruto nodded. "Right. We have to move quickly. NOW!!!" Both of them dodged their respective clones and lunged straight for the Akatsuki. They were running at him very fast, but both of them could see him smiling. They saw the bird flying at them only once it was too late. It blew up in their faces and sent them flying back. Their clones and the shadow clones of the Naruto clone caught and captured them.

Deidara jumped next to Pein with a wide grin on his face. "I know you didn't need the help, but I couldn't resist. Tobi! Knock out the boy. Kill the girl."

Tobi was standing in between the immobilized Naruto and Sakura. "Senpai! I don't want to kill her! That's too cruel."

Deidara displayed his impatience. "Then do whatever you want with her just get rid of her."

Tobi brought his hand to his head and saluted Deidara. "As you wish Deidara-senpai." He proceeded to grab Naruto's face and lean in close to whisper. "You die for us all kid. Trust me, it's better this way." Before Naruto could react a surge of chakra bore into his skull until he blacked out.

Sakura had her head turned to the side and was trying as hard as she could to get free, but it was her own clone that was holding her down for the most part and she couldn't overcome it's strength. Tobi walked up to her. "But I thought..." Sakura's eyes bulged as he grabbed the sides of her head and knocked her out as well. When the Sakura clone dropped her he picked her up and sent her flying over the edge roof.

Hinata saw Sakura being thrown off and launched herself forward just fast enough to catch her and break her fall. She laid Sakura down gently and looked up at the roof she had come off of. "Byakugan!" She saw the three Akatsuki she had seen earlier. And she saw the two Narutos, one of whom was holding the other's limp form. She knew, without knowing, that the real Naruto was the unconscious one. It filled her with rage to see him in that condition. She leapt up to the roof.

Her appearance was sudden, the others did not see it coming. She was able to jump forward and stab the Naruto clone in the back, using a chakra blade to sever it's spinal column. It fell limp to the ground, dropping the real Naruto in it's fall. Now she had to move quickly. The Sakura clone was coming for her, as was the nearest Akatsuki. They would both reach her at the same time. She took the stance. "KAITEN!" She spun around, creating a spinning dome of chakra around her body.

Pein watched as the young woman sent Tobi and the Sakura clone flying away. The grounded Naruto clone was useless to him, so he dispelled it, and it morphed back into the ground. Then he turned his attention back to the girl. "A Hyuga. Very rare, very powerful. The Hakkesho Kaiten is an effective defense. We don't have time for this. Deidara, get rid of her."

Deidara slipped his hands into his pouches and when he brought them out he prepared two clay caterpillars. He threw them at Hinata and they enlarged into long clay monsters.

Hinata realized that the Hakkesho Kaiten would be useless as the long caterpillars would coil around the spinning shield rather then being knocked away by it. She also remembered from the stories she'd heard that those monsters would explode even if they were chopped up. Hinata would just have to be fast enough to get by them and get in close against him. The caterpillars lunged and so did she. She ran by them, she had to be quick. "KATSU!!" They detonated just as she was about to clear their tails. The explosions slammed into her body from both sides and her back. They sent her forward, but her body was paralyzed by pain.

The Hyuga collapsed before Pein. She attempted to pick herself up but could not manage before he kicked her in the face and sent her flying all the way to an adjacent roof top. When Hinata landed she was unconscious.

The explosions were loud enough to act as a beacon for the other Akatsuki to come, and within moments they were all there. Pein looked at everyone. "Orochimaru, have your men get to work, you will not be the only people who heard those explosions."

Orochimaru signaled to his four men, and they spread into a large square, one at each corner of the building they were standing on. The sound nin threw their hands out and a large purple barrier surrounded the entire building. Orochimau turned to Pein. "Your turn."

Pein turned to the center of the large building. "All the other tailed beasts have been collected, the idol will be at full strength." Within moments the area within the barrier was enveloped in an earthquake. Moments after that the building began to heave and bulge. The roof was torn asunder by the rising statue. Its head fist breaking most and then it's chained hands poking through. Amazingly the building stood even after all this damage, held together by the barrier which surrounded it. With the statue summoned the Akatsuki took their positions on it's fingers.

Naruto lay knocked out between it's wrists. The Akatsuki made their hand signs. The statue's mouth opened and blue chakra dragons poured out, falling down onto Naruto.

* * *

The explosions had drawn a crowd. Sasuke was watching, his eyes locked on the man standing on the statue's right ring finger. Kiba and Shino had arrived and were trying to wake up Hinata. Chouji and Ino found Sakura and carried her up to the roof tops, propping her against an incline. Tsunade and Jiraiya stood together looking on like everyone else. Even Shikamaru could see the purple barrier from atop the Hokage monument. With him were the village's reinforcements from Suna and Kumo.

All of these people looked on. All of them were filled with despair. All of them felt the deep pangs of a failure like none they had ever felt before.

* * *

A/N: … 


	56. Identity

A/N: You guys didn't honestly think I would kill of Naruto so anticlimactically did you? Nope he's still kicking, much to Akatsuki's disdain. But you'll have to read to find out about that whole thing.

Reviews.:

Moonlover: I have another fanfiction idea, but not a Naruto fic. I've published every idea I have concerning Naruto into this one fic. It all depends on whether or not I feel like it.

Animegirl: Can't say. Though it may be more clear by the end of the chapter. (Caboose-Funny. Church-Awesome. Blue (this site does not support the greater than sign but that's what I'm trying to say here) Red)

Lovecomes: Normal people don't do much thinking when they are uunconscious, so yeah Naruto should have a plan brewing in no time. And yeah, something awesome will happen and all of Konoha will be just fine. And yes, this amazing plot device is so simple that it all takes place in one chapter. (NOT)

Zeek: Stop confusing me!!! This chapter alone is more then 3000 words long!! In wha crazy math class does 10 divided by 2 make 3000?!?! For the sake of both our minds I would rather just drop the subject of the length of my chapters and just be happy that you enjoy reading it and I enjoy writing it. As for Pein, I think the ability to produce a perfect clone of his opponent is pretty damn cool. But to each his own. Anyway that's not how Naruto survives this. The truth is a little more shocking, while simultaneously being fairly predictable, but with interesting consequences.

Kyuubi: I may like Anime but if there's one thing I can't stand it's the love saves you crap. This aint Sailor Moon folks. Lust had more to do with it then anything, that and one demon being a cowardly conniving bastard. Read on…

Dragon: Well he's not going to die yet, though I don't think he'd be very effective against 8 S class missing nin. Good Idea on the Naruto clone though, but I liked how Hinata did it. As for the flame barrier thing, I'd say it does, thy just open it up to let Zetsu out for this chappie. The time of extraction is explained in this chapter as well so read.

BlackHazes: Answering that would kill the story. I like happy endings, but not at the expense of realistic characters. I also abhor the concept of the dues ex machina (translated god from a machine), fancy literary term for something that comes out of nowhere to save everyone. All the pieces are already displayed, and I think you should start to see how they will fit together by the end of this chapter. Piece them together like I have and you may know what's going to happen. That's the way I write everything.

* * *

Chapter 56: Identity 

Kisame looked over to Orochimaru. "How long can they keep that barrier up?"

Orochimaru smiled. "As long as we need it, they can go for days without rest."

Pein glanced over at the sannin. "That won't be necessary. The whole reason for capturing the other tailed beasts was for this moment. We will be using their chakra to augment the extraction. We should be finished within the hour."

The dragons were twining around Naruto's body ready to begin the extraction.

* * *

Outside the barrier more and more people were gathering. Team guy had landed near Sakura, who after a minor touch up from Ino had woken up. Ino then leapt over to Hinata in order to help her as well. Kakashi, Kurenai, and several other jonin were now on the scene. Even Shikamaru and the reinforcements had rushed down from the monument. 

When Hinata woke up she looked around and saw what was going on. She burst into tears and began running toward the barrier prompting Kiba and Shino to stop her. They pulled her away and held her against a wall, trying to talk some sense into her.

Sakura was also crying, and had dropped to her knees in weakness.

* * *

The Blue dragons had enveloped Naruto. And then they dispersed.

* * *

Kaashi watched from the outside as the Akatsuki began to discuss something. From here he could not hear what, and most of them kept their mouths covered so lip reading was impossible. Still, their eyes told him they were not happy. _'Has something gone wrong? Come to think of it, when they were extracting the Shukaku, they had those clones assault us, why would they need such a drastic delay if the process was this fast? Something is wrong here.' _His thoughts could do nothing, all he could do was watch.

* * *

'

* * *

"What is going on here? You said an hour not thirty seconds." Kisame had dropped his hands and was looking at Pein. 

Pein was simply staring wide eyed at Naruto's body, unable to respond. His eyes changed their target when he heard laughter. Tobi was laughing, almost maniacally. "Hahahahaha. That clever bastard." Tobi leapt down to Naruto's body. He reached out and took hold of Naruto's hair, lifting him to eye level by it. "You figured I was coming and ran the hell away you coward." With his other hand he peeled one of Naruto's eyes open and looked at it.

The other members of Akatsuki watched confused. Itachi was especially speechless when he recognized what Tobi was doing. It couldn't go without question. "How do you have the sharingan?"

Many of the Akatsuki looked first to Itachi, then back to Tobi. Tobi looked around. "Go ahead, tell them Pein."

Pein watched his accomplices look at him. "Tobi has another name. Madara Uchiha."

Itachi squinted at Tobi. "Why do you have that name? An Insult?"

Tobi looked at Itachi, his sharingan eye clearly visible now. "No, for reasons you don't need know my name is Madara Uchiha. And I have seen inside this boy. There is no demon within him."

Orochimaru jumped down. "How is that possible?"

Tobi dropped Naruto roughly to the ground. "The same way it was originally placed in him to begin with, but I imagine the demon moved voluntarily this time, which spared the boy's life. The requirements for a host are that it must have little to know conscious thought capability. A newborn is the only option. Then Naruto would need to be in close proximity to the child. However for the demon to move like that it must have had almost none of its seal left. Naruto must have been advancing the seal's degradation through his continual usage of the demon's powers."

Kisame was also back on the ground. "If it could leave his body why wouldn't it just manifest itself?"

Tobi let out a laugh again. "Why don't you answer that one Itachi. You read the history just as I did."

Itachi didn't like being made the center of attention, but he did know the answer. "The other demons despised their human hosts because they are for the most part unintelligent. The Kyuubi is fully intelligent, for it humans are something different. It was the original progenitor of the Sharingan. Why it gave humans this ability is unknown, but historically the beast has always worked with and meddled with human affairs. If this is any indication, it still desires human form."

Pein was now on the roof as well. "Then our objective has only altered slightly. We must locate the person who now bears the Kyuubi. It should be an infant right?"

Though no one could see his face everyone had the distinct impression that Madara was smiling. "Perhaps. How much actual reconnaissance did we have regarding this boy?"

Zetsu was now the one being asked. "Almost none, there was never any order to really look into him since he was so predictable." **"However since a few of ours have had dealings with him in the past, as well as Orochimaru…"**

Itachi shook his head. "What I saw of him all those years ago was just a stupid boy."

Deidara shrugged. "I agree, a haphazard reckless boy with no self control."

Orochimaru smiled. "I may know things, but what is it you want to know?"

Madara continued to smile through his mask. "Did this boy have a woman? A significant other?"

Orochimaru smiled. "No I wouldn't know anything like that. Where are you going with this?"

Madara looked around. "Simple really. What has less of a conscious then an unborn child?"

* * *

Hinata was being drug away by her teammates. "NO I HAVE TO GO BACK!!! NARUTO!! NARUTOOOO!!!!!" 

Kiba and Shino held her tight though, jumping away from where it was happening. Shino grabbed her face and looked into her eyes. "Hinata. I'm sorry. There's nothing you can do for him, and you are in no condition to be fighting right now. Please try to understand."

She collapsed to her knees, crying uncontrollably.

* * *

Kisame walked to the edge of the barricade. "Well, we had planned to simply murder a path through any onlookers but if we have to conduct another search we might be in trouble." 

Pein also looked around. "Zetsu, order Orochimaru's soldiers into the main area of the city. Even if they want to focus on us they can't all ignore the sound nin. Aim them at the shelters to give the leaf even more incentive."

"Yes sir." **"Yes sir."**

Zetsu vanished. Madara was walking along the edge of the barrier looking at all the onlookers. _'Kakashi. Sasuke. Guy. Another Hyuga. Ohh Tsunade and Jiraiya, no doubt here to avenge their sensei. Suna. Kumo. We are surrounded by quite a number of powerful shinobi.' _He went full circle around the perimeter and was standing by Naruto again. _'Who is she Naruto? Who is the woman who holds your child. It could be any woman in this entire village couldn't it? Who loved you?' _Madara knelt down by Naruto and removed his ring. He placed it on Naruto's finger. "Pein, I'm going to wake him up, when I do try to find a name for his woman."

Pein nodded. Madara placed his hands on Naruto's head and reversed his jutsu, waking Naruto up violently. With amazing seed Madara spun behind Naruto and grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back. With his other hand Madara placed a kunai to Naruto's throat. "What…What's going on?"

"Who is she Naruto? Who is the woman who is carrying your child?"

'_What? What is he talking about? Could he mean Hinata?!'_

"Hinata. The name is Hinata." Naruto looked at Pein in horror. "He can't do anything for us anymore."

Naruto could feel the ring sliding off his thumb, and he cursed himself for being so foolish. "Sorry kid, he has a point, unless you want to tell us who this Hinata is."

Orochimaru smiled. "Kill him anyway Madara, I can tell you who Hinata is. She is the heiress of the Hyuga family. She was that young woman that attacked us a few moments ago."

Kisame smiled. "It's a good thing Deidara and Pein didn't kill her then. Oh? It looks like she's gone."

Zetsu reappeared. "The main force of the sound nin has begun pushing harder." **"They** **are bypassing the gate and heading directly for the core of the village."** "They will be here any moment."

"Excellent timing Zetsu. We need you to quickly find a woman. A hyuga, long dark hair and white eyes. She was injured when we saw her last but she could have gotten aid by now. Go"

"**More orders" **"You are keeping us busy sir." **"Of course I will comply."** Zetsu vanished into the ground again.

Deidara walked near to Pein. "So, we just wait for Zetsu to tell us where she is?"

Pein shook his head. "No, we will need to move as soon as the sound nin get here. Zetsu will apprehend the girl, his abilities can pierce the gentle fist. We will need to disappear as soon as this shield goes down. We won't be able to try extracting the girl inside of the city again, so we'll have to take her away. Zetsu understands that."

Kisame looked at Pein. "So what you're saying is that while Orochimaru's forces create a massive diversion, we all run away." Pein didn't respond. "That aint happening." He took samehada off of his back and pointed it over at Guy. "I have to kill him and at least 2 other people before I leave this place."

Pein's eyes showed his disappointment. "Who you desire to kill is none of my concern. Stay here if you chose to, but if you are not at the base in one day you will be an enemy to us all."

Itachi looked outside the shield. "I'm sorry sir, but there is something I must do as well."

Pein looked at Itachi. "Your brother?"

Itachi nodded.

Pein faced Orochimaru. "And our deal with you?"

Orochimaru laughed. "If Sasuke-kun can be killed by Itachi I don't want him anyway. Besides, wasting away my forces murdering the innocent civilians of this pathetic village is a fine trade off in my mind."

* * *

Tsunade suddenly had company from an ANBU. "Report." 

"Several additional sound nin have appeared and have penetrated past the gate."

"How far have they gotten?" The ANBU didn't have time to answer before a swarm of sound ninja came into view, leaping through the village. Tsunade examined the situation. She had to give an order. "Ninja! We have to fight off these invaders!" Everyone gathered around heard her. Like the well trained ninja they were they leapt into action, fighting against the sound nin. To Tsunade's horror a large number of the enemy ran past the leaf nin, heading to the shelters. "Defend the civilians!!"

Shikamaru turned to the reinforcements. "Temari! Send your units back to our shelters! They need to be protected."

Temari waved her fan, sending several sound nin fling away with several cuts. "You heard him Kankuro! Everyone go back to the shelters at once. Don't let even a single Konoha citizen get scratched."

Kankuro led his puppets in a systematic slaughter of several enemies. "What about you Temari?"

She prepped her fan for another swing. "I stay here. Any minute now that shield will come down. When it does I will assist in bringing down the Akatsuki. Don't worry I can handle it just go!" She swung, defeating another three man onslaught. Someone landed behind her. She turned to face the enemy, but saw that he was already wound up in shadowy tendrils that were choking him. She glanced up to Shikamaru, who had covered her back.

Shikamaru smiled at her as the enemy fell down dead, but both of them heard something and glanced back toward the barrier. It had vanished and the Akatsuki were moving out quickly. Temari caught sight of Deidara flying away on his usual bird. Temari recognized him as the man who had kidnapped Garaa so long ago. Shikamaru could see the look in her eyes. "Don't Temari. DON'T!!" She didn't listen to him, preferring to run off after her personal foe.

* * *

Pein, Madara, and the female Akatsuki leapt away as a group, moving incredibly fast and heading right for the gate. Kurenai and several other Jonin sprang up to pursue. 

Orochimaru also departed toward the edge of Konoha, but in a slightly different direction. He was quickly targeted for pursuit by Tsunade and Jiraiya.

* * *

Sasuke watched everything but only had one target in mind. To his surprise, Itachi leapt out of the area in his direction, flying by at blinding speed. As Itachi rushed by he made he made eye contact with Sasuke. Sasuke understood plainly.

* * *

"Neji! Tenten! Lee! Sakura! We must pursue those three…" Guy was cut off by the arrival of Kisame. 

"You aren't going anywhere. We have a score to settle." Kisame's smile was wide and malicious.

Guy paused. "Neji, I'm making you temporary leader of the squad, lead the other three after those Akatsuki, but be very careful."

Neji nodded. Sakura stepped forward. "No, Guy-sensei. You go after the Akatsuki. You and your squad can move much faster then I can. I can handle this." Her determination was shown in her voice.

Guy didn't turn away from Kisame, but he did glance at Sakura with his peripheral. "Sakura…" Without even waiting for his approval Sakura ran forward. She stopped short of Kisame and punched the roof they were standing on, causing the building to cave in. Kisame leapt away and was being followed by Sakura.

Lee and the rest of team guy also leapt off the collapsing roof but in the direction opposite that of Sakura and Kisame. When Lee saw this he was distraught. "SAKURA-CHAN!!"

As he landed he was set to launch after her, but before he could Guy had his arm. "She can handle herself Lee. And she is trusting us to fight the three that ran off. We cannot betray that trust." Lee nodded and the four of them went leaping away.

Sakura landed right in front of Kisame who was watching after the escaping Guy and was beginning to frown. "Look at that. He's getting away." His shark like eyes fell onto Sakura. "Little girl, you just rose to the top of my kill list."

* * *

Hinata was still distraught so Kiba and Shino hid her in a nearby house once they sensed incoming sound nin. And there were a lot of them. Far too many for the three of them, counting Akamaru, to handle. The sound nin knew it too and were pounding on them. Kiba was knocked back close to Akamaru and Shino. Shino put up a thick bug wall. "It won't last long. What can we do?" 

Kiba sniffed the air. "We don't need to do anything. Lower the shield."

Shino was skeptical, but he trusted Kiba's nose. When he did he saw that the sound nin were beginning to move quickly away from them. This was because a number of sand nin and leaf nin had arrived to back them up. "What is going on?"

Kankuo was the closest to them. "The sound ninja suddenly started charging through. They are targeting the civilian shelters. Are you coming?"

Kiba and Shino exchanged glances. Kiba whistled for Akamaru. "I have to take care of Hinata first. Akamaru and I will carry her home. You run ahead Shino."

* * *

Kakashi leapt to the platform where the Akatsuki had been, and where their monstrous idol still stood. Naruto was also there. But what Kakashi saw he did not like. Naruto was face down with a pool of blood around him. Kakashi walked forward and grabbed Naruto's shoulder. With a tug he flipped Naruto face up. "What!" Naruto had no visible wounds. Kakashi rubbed his fingers in the pool on the ground. There wasn't even liquid there, the ground was completely dry. A quick check of Naruto's vitals confirmed that he was alive. Kakashi focused some chakra into Naruto, waking him up from his induced sleep. 

Naruto woke up and grabbed for his neck, but he fund no wound of any kind. When he was assured he wasn't dead he looked around. "Kakashi-sensei! What happened?"

Kakashi looked at his student then around. "I don't know Naruto. I don't understand. First he warns me of the impending attack. Then he helps them in trying to take the Kyuubi from you. Then he fakes your demise and run's away. Tobi…What is his angle?"

Naruto was standing and dusting himself off. "Tobi, that was what you said the guy with the weird mask was called right? Cuz the others were calling him Madara or something like that." Naruto saw Kakashi freeze.

'

* * *

"Hinata. Come here. You need to be taken to somewhere safe." Hinata was buried in the corner of the room she was in, but Kiba was surprised to see her face. It no longer showed grief, but instead terror. "Hinata?!" 

"Thank you for making finding her so easy. **"Yes, we would have had to search everywhere if you hadn't called out her name." **

Kiba and Akamaru were suddenly joined by someone with a very off scent. He smelled like plant life. But before his voice had appeared there had been no sign of him at all. Kiba was looking at him now, and was surprised by his appearance. He looked like plant life. From his words Kiba could tell he was after Hinata, what he didn't understand was why. Kiba resolved to beating an answer out of this monster.

* * *

A/N: Well, Everyone has a fight waiting for them, don't they? Things may get bloody. Right now I can account for two character deaths. Maybe more. You don't fight against S-class ninja without some casualties I'm sorry to say. 


	57. First Losses

A/N: This chapter is going to be the first in a string that are pretty much all happening at once because of the people that ran off. Also, I've decided to change the summary. Check it out if you didn't notice.

Lovecomes: Are you being sarcastic with me?

BlackHazes: Thank you. But some significant characters have to die, or else the concept of the death I am introducing would be insignificant. Would Naruto have been nearly as gripping if the Sarutobis were still running around?

Zeek: Thank you as well. Your questions cannot be answered yet though, sorry. Except for that thing with Kurenai's kid, that aint happenin.

Rasengan: You want Hinata and Naruto's baby to die? How could you? You're te one that was telling them to have sex all the time!!

Useful: At least two, two are how many I was sure of. I'm sure of some more now so get ready. And don't count Sakura down yet think about what Tobi said to Kakashi a little while ago in my fic and then think about what Sakura has been doing with her time. And your chakra question will be answered shortly. As for the end, its coming, but I'm not a good judge of the number of chapters. I'm still gonna have it done before September though I promise you that.

Animegirl: It seems I'm doing my job well.

Dragon: That's probably an awesome idea but Ino is elsewhere right now so they are short one flower expert sorry. And yeah, Tobi/Madara is an enigma in the manga so I went with that style in the fic.

* * *

Chapter 57: First Losses 

"Wait!!!! We need to go to the shelters right now, they said they were going after Hinata!!!" Naruto's sudden request snapped Kakashi out of his daze. "C'mon!"

"Naruto!" Naruto was already leaping away. Kakashi caught up with him. "Why would they be after Hinata?"

"I don't know!! They said something about her being pregnant though!!"

Kakashi grabbed Naruto's shoulder and forced him to stop. "Naruto, summon the demon's chakra right now."

Naruto scratched his head. "Huh? Didn't they already remove the demon?"

Kakashi shook his head. "If they had you would be dead."

Naruto clasped his hands and started bringing molding his chakra. He couldn't find the demon's chakra, he couldn't even find the demon. "It's gone! But I'm alive!! What I going on?!"

Kakashi looked around. "I'm not sure, Kiba and Shino should have gotten back to the shelters with Hinata by now. We need to get moving as well."

Naruto paused. "I thought she was posted at the Shelters?"

Kakashi shook his head. "No, she came to help you but was unsuccessful. Kiba and Shino took her away because she thought you were dead. We all did."

Naruto leapt again heading for the shelters.

* * *

'_**cnnnoooeaarrrmmmmm'**_

'_What was that?'_

'_**now?'**_

'_Wha?'_

'_**Good, I wasn't sure if this would be possible.'**_

'_What is going on?'_

'_**If I told you that Naruto may still be alive would you listen to me?'**_

'_Naruto is…is…alive?'_

'_**Possibly.'**_

'_Tell me! Please!!'_

'_**Hehehe, so devoted. That's why he loves you. I tolerate you for another reason though. Listen Hinata, we can help each other. I'll help you find Naruto, and all I want you to do is survive. A simple request.'**_

'_Who…What are you?'_

'_**Isn't that obvious? I am the Kyuubi.'**_

'_But I thought…Naruto…'_

'_**It is my being here that may have saved Naruto. The extraction of a bijuu kills the host unless the demon moves willingly from one host to another. I have chosen this as my new vessel to avoid detection by Akatsuki. I imagine they know where I am by now though, so I will need your help in avoiding them. If you don't want to die, you must help me.'**_

Hinata's mind raced. She was terrified of the demon that was now inside her body. She felt unclean and used. She didn't trust it, but she wanted to believe it. _'What should I do?!'_

'_**Trust me.'**_

Kiba and Akamaru came running into the house. "Hinata. Come here. You need to be taken somewhere save." Hinata was buried in the corner of the room she was in, her face glowing with terror. "Hinata?!"

"Thank you for making finding her so easy." **"Yes, we would have had to search everywhere if you hadn't called out her name."**

'_**That is one of them. I guarantee that your friend will die without my help. Do you want to watch that?"**_

Akamaru transformed into Kiba and they both leapt toward their foe. Zetsu disappeared into the ground as they approached him. He reappeared right in front of Hinata. "I'm not usually the one who does this job." **"And this was Itachi's bijuu." **"But orders are orders." Zetsu examined Hinata for a moment. **"I don't think she's moving. We could have a snack before we take her." **"I don't want to waste too much time. A quick snack." **"But we don't like dog. Which one is the human?" **"I forgot. I'll injure them, that will undo the transformation."

Kiba growled a command to Akamaru. Akamaru replied with his own growl. They both leapt forward again, this time using gatsuga. Zetsu did not dodge this time, instead he closed the plant like mouth that surrounded him. Akamaru's and Kiba's claws only scraped the surface of his plant like body. They spun around him and landed in front of Hinata, defending her. Zetsu didn't even react to scratches. The flytrap opened just enough for them to see his face, which had a smile on it. They rushed forward for another attack, this time latching on with their claws and pulling him out of the house.

Once they were outside Zetsu's flytrap opened showing his entire body. They were in the dirt street now. "Synchronized movements, identical appearance, you make the best use of team work." **"We can appreciate that"**

Kiba was grinning, but on the inside he was very worried. _'Great, why do I always get stuck fighting a couple of freaks that like to share a body?'_

Zetsu's seemingly empty sleeves were suddenly filled by two large vine like appendages. After they were spawed they quickly sprouted several thorns all over them, creating menacing weapons.

Kiba and Akamaru began conversing via growls and other such noises again. They came to the consensus that they would need to flank him in order to hit when his defenses were down. One of the Kiba's leapt over Zesu with the intent of getting behind him. Mid way through his arc Zetsu leapt up, reaching out to catch the Kiba with his thorny arms. The other Kiba saw and jumped straight for Zetsu, bearing his claws.

Zetsu's arms reached the highest Kiba, who defended with his claws. His chakra hardened claws were unable to cut through Zetsu's thorns, but at least the reverse was true as well. The defense would give the second Kiba enough time to reach Zetsu and cut him. To prevent this, Zetsu whipped his left arm down toward the other Kiba, who quickly defended with his own claws. Since they weren't going to get a hit in like this the two Kibas launched away from Zetsu and landed on opposite sides of him.

When Zetsu landed he began to wave his arms around him in a complex patter. The Kiba's watched and noted how the arms bent and swayed as if he had no bones in his arms. A few growls later the Kibas were running on all fours in circles around Zetsu, staying in flanking positions.

They were moving quite fast. All Zetsu had to do was wait for the attack. Both of the dogs reached into their supplies, throwing several small bombs towards Zetsu. Only half of the smoke bombs actually detonated, but the others disappeared in smaller puffs of smoke. Zetsu actually laughed at how easy they were making things.

The Kibas ran in once the smoke was fully obscuring. They used their gatsuga and rushed through the smoky field, but they never hit anything. When the smoke cleared they could see a strange looking plant that was where they had expected Zetsu to be. A sniff revealed that the plant had the same scent as Zetsu. The Kibas looked at each other, and one of their eyes went wide. Two thorny appendages had appeared behind one of the them.

The thorny vines twisted and curled trying to grip the Kiba as he tried to leap away. The other Kiba quickly approached and performed a gatsuga right into the vines. The vines bent and recoiled from the impact but any cuts were superficial at best. Luckily the other Kiba was able to get away from them thanks to the diversion. The two Kibas landed close to regroup, and watch the vines draw themselves back into the round.

With a quick sideways glance, Kiba looked into the house where Hinata was still hidden. He considered how much easier the fight would be if she would help, but he couldn't do that to her. He also had no chance to escape carrying her. "Akamaru go get help." He said this without the disguise of barking, and immediately the vines surrounded him. Kiba had anticipated this and dodged away right when they sprouted out of the ground. Akamaru barked a message to Kiba. "Just go get help I can hold him till then."

Akamaru was still for a moment, but transformed back to his natural state and went running off for help.

The vines were after Kiba with every move he made, so leapt to roof top to get out of their range. Zetsu leapt out of the ground and landed on a roof adjacent to Kiba's. They were in a stare down.

* * *

Hinata had never seen a place like this before in her life. The entire place was built of cobblestones, and there several electrical wires looping in and out of he walls at random inervals. Despite there being no visible light source she could see well enough without her byakugan. She was standing in a long hallway. Both paths led to rooms with the same odd architecture. It was the demon's voice that was guiding her. **"This way, Hinata. You will need my help to aid your friends."**

Hinata followed the voice to one of he rooms. The room was largely featureless, except for a smaller tunnel leading out of it, placed up on the wall like a window. Hinata approached the portal. As she drew closer to it the window suddenly filled with a strange white fluid. Though the fluid filled the window to the brim it didn't spill out into the room. Instead, a face appeared in the liquid. A face with black eyes and a wide toothy grin. **"Ahhhh There you are." **Hinata blinked, and in that instant bars had appeared to cover the window, as if locking the white water out. **"There, now that which is implied is manifest. As you see, I cannot reach into your share of the flesh."**

Hinata shook her head while backing away slightly. "What are you talking about?"

The face seemed to smile wider. **"You are not truly my vessel, Hinata. Humans who have been alive to long will never unconsciously allow a demon into their bodies. These bars are that prevention. However an infant has no such defense, and that is why your child is my current host."**

Hinata's breath grew shallow. "What do you…Do you mean I'm…I'm…"

"**Pregnant. With the child of Naruto Uzumaki."**

She was gasping for air now, she simply couldn't believe it. Then she was suddenly very angry. She ran forward and grabbed he bars, facing the demon directly. "Why my child?! Why not me?! Why not meeee?!" Hinata began to cry.

"**Do not worry Hinata. My presence even here will do little more then make this child very much like your husband. However, if you are so adamant about evicting me from your baby, that can be arranged."**

Her tears began to slow down. "How?"

"**You must do two things. First, destroy these bars."**

Hinata reached up and took hold of the bars. "What is the second thing I must do?"

"**You must then destroy this." **The liquid form of the Kyuubi surged and from it's depths something became visible. The object flowed through until it was at the front of the Kyuubi's face pressing against the bars. **"This is the accursed seal that limits my powers."**

Hinata released the bars. The seal was barely visible, only about the size of her thumb with the rest apparently burnt off. "Why would I destroy that? Won't releasing your full power be bad? Naruto…he told me that it can kill the person who holds you, that you will be freed to destroy us all like when you attacked. No. I can't do this."

"**Hinata, if you do not do this your friends will die, your husband will die, and when the Akatsuki come for you, your child will die and then you will die. Destroy these barricades Hinata. I swear to do no harm to anyone of the leaf village."**

"How can I be sure?"

"**You can't." **Hinata shuddred. **"I can offer you no assurance of my motives. But even if I were to betray you I would do no more damage then Akatsuki would. With me you have a chance."**

Hinata shook her head. "I could fight on my own."

"**Could you defeat people that even Naruto was helpless against?"**

"Naruto didn't have you to help him that's why he lost!"

"

* * *

Zetsu held his arms out right in front of him. Kiba waited for it. The thorns all over the arms bent facing forward and shot out like bullets. Kiba jumped up to avoid them. Zetsu had also jumped right at him, and his arms were already growing back their thorns. Kiba spun himself in the air filling one hand with smoke bombs and the other with shuriken. When he had them he launched first the smoke bombs and then the shuriken right at Zetsu who he could still locate by scent. 

Zetsu wrapped his vines around his body, deflecting the kunai with them. He then whipped the vines out of the cloud to where Kiba had been. He didn't hit anything, so he quickly retracted the vines to defend. He flew out the other side of the cloud without incident. Then he felt Kiba latch on to his back.

Kiba had dived right through the cloud and right past Zetsu while he was still defending. When he landed he leapt back up, coming from behind Zetsu. He was now stabbing into Zetsu's body with his hands and feat. "You wanted m to be your snack right? How do you like it?!" Kiba bit Zetsu right below where his flytrap like protrusion began.

Zetsu winced from the pain. He reached his vines up behind his body and prepared to gouge into Kiba. Kiba raked his claws and teeth through Zetsu's flesh and leapt away. Mid flight Zetsu spun and shot out his thorns again. Kiba readied himself and with excellent speed and use of his claws deflected most of the thorns. After the first one impacted his left leg he lost control and two additional thorns pierced through his left arm and lower right gut. He landed on his back and Zetsu soon landed near him.

Kiba was standing up, ignoring his wounds when the thornless vine wrapped around his leg and grabbed the thorn that was still buried there. The vine twisted it, earning a painful gasp from Kiba. He gritted his teeth through the pain and reached down to slice the tendril off. He was halted when the thorns suddenly sprouted again, stabbing his leg in many places. After he overcame the new pain he reached down and dug his claws into the vine between two of it's thorns. Zetsu lifted up the other vine which was still free of thorns. Using it as a whip he began whipping into Kiba's arms and face.

Kiba grabbed the whipping vine with one of his free hands. It quickly grew a thorn right through his hand. "Torturing me eh? That's fine. I know some really talented medical ninja. Meanwhile help is on the way once Akamaru finds…"

"**We should tell him." **"Yes, why not. Ruining hope is always the best. Your pet didn't get very far." **"I'm afraid you are facing a master of the Earth Clone Jutsu."** "But I don't need clones to beat you." **"Even if it does let us do this."** Kiba was suddenly surrounded by several more vines reaching up into the air and whipping around him. "And this." Another vine shot up from the ground, wrapped tightly around a bloody Akamaru. "Play time is over." **"We have a job to do." **"But first the snack."

Kiba desperately tried to move but the vines around him reacted. They pulled him down to the ground and held him absolutely still, with one choking him. Zetsu leaned over him. He stopped suddenly, and turned.

Hinata was walking out of the house she had been in. But she wasn't looking at Zetsu, rather she was looking back towards where the Akatsuki had been gathered earlier. Zetsu glared at her. "So she chose to fight." **"I guess we have to apprehend her earlier then we thought." **Several vines sprung up near Hinata and lashed out at her.

Hinata saw them coming. "Kaiten." With just one rotation she repelled all of the vines with such force that they were ripped out of the ground. As they flew to the air they dissolved into mud.

Zetsu was not deterred. "Of course." **"She is a Hyuga." **"I must use that." Zetsu's vine like arms rotted away, as did all the similar vines still holding Kiba and Akamaru.

With Kiba freed he quickly crawled away to Akamaru. He crawled until he was right by his companion. "Akamaru! Akamaru! Say something to me!!" There was no answer, so Kiba pulled himself up right beside his friend's head and placed a hand in front of the nose. Akamaru was still breathing, but faintly. "Hang on Akamaru! Hinata!! Hinata we need…" For the first time since she walked out of the house Kiba was getting a good look at Hinata. Her eyes had changed. He couldn't see very clearly from here, but he definitely saw a high content of black, which made no sense for a Hyuga.

Zetsu formed hand signs. His body sank into the ground, and as he sank he said "It will be difficult to not kill you with this." **"But we will try." **He was completely submerged then.

Hinata didn't even shudder.

At that moment Naruto and Kakashi arrived. They didn't see an enemy, but they saw the badly wounded Kiba and Akamaru. And they saw Hinata standing there. Naruto leapt down to her. "Hina…ta…what…what happened?" Hinata was different. Her eyes, once almost pure white, now had a strange black pattern in them. It reminded him of the Sharingan. He didn't have a lot of time to think about it though.

Hinata suddenly grabbed him and kissed him. She broke off just as quickly. And looked right at Naruto. "Don't worry Naruto, I can handle this. Please get off of the ground."

Naruto didn't move immediately. It was Kakashi who saw what was coming. "NARUTO!! HINATA!! MOVE!!!" Kakashi was holding up both Kiba and Akamaru and leapt quickly off the ground.

Naruto turned around to see what the fuss was, but Hinata grabbed his shoulder. Despite only holding onto such a small piece of him, Hinata was able to throw Naruto upward with amazing velocity. While flying upward Naruto looked down to see what was going on. Hinata was surrounded by large plant like teeth that were closing rapidly around her. Before he could even scream her name Hinata had already spun and severed the plant like jaws closing around her. The plants bled red as if they were part of a person, and quickly sank back into the ground.

Naruto landed on a nearby rooftop and ran to the edge to look at Hinata. She was leaping over to Kakashi. As soon as she reached them Zetsu sprang out of the ground, bleeding from the plant like structure around his head which was missing it's teeth. His thorny vine like arms reached not for Hinata but for Kiba. Hinata was there and sliced the vines to pieces. As soon as she did they dissolved into mud along with Zetsu.

Kiba found himself being grabbed by another pair of vines. Zetsu rose holding Kiba in front of him like a shield. Kiba yelled as the flytrap like attachments of Zetsu's body began to close. In that instant Akamaru moved, holding open Zetsu's flytrap with his own body. Despite the clog the flytrap was still closing. Hinata moved forward and reached her arm into the flytrap. Her hand landed on Zetsu's face.

Within moments Zetsu released Kiba and Akamaru, and fell over dead.

Naruto jumped over to see what was going on up close. He couldn't believe what Hinata was suddenly able to do. "Hinata how did you…"

"NARUTO!! STAY AWAY FROM HER!!!" Kakashi was staring at Hinata through his sharingan eye. "We have found your missing demon, and right now I count six tails of chakra on Hinata's chakra shell."

Naruto stumbled a bit. "What are you talking about Kakashi she doesn't have a chakra shell." Naruto only saw Hinata standing there, plain as always except her eyes.

Kakashi shook his head. "I can't see it through my normal eye but my sharingan sees it clearly; a white chakra shell all around her. At that level she must be under the control of the demon."

Naruto couldn't believe it. "No way. Hinata? Hinata? Speak to me Hinata!"

She was looking right at Naruto with a sweet smile on her face. "Don't worry Naruto, I will take care of everything." She turned and leapt with incredible speed heading back to where the idol had been based.

Naruto watched her go longingly. "Hinata…"

While Naruto watched Hinata leaving them behind, Kiba mourned Akamaru who had sacrificed himself to stop Zetsu's last attack.

* * *

A/N: I'd like to say I didn't write that, but I did. Akamaru is dead. He was one of those confirmed death's I told you about. I'll tell you right now that more are on the way. 


	58. Distraction

A/N: This is the Sakura Vs. Kisame chapter. Previous reviews placed Sakura's odds at very low. That's a little harsh IMO, Sakura's been working her but off trying to become as good as Naruto and Sasuke, I'd be a monster if all of it amounted to nothing.

Reviews:

Eriz: Yes, Akamaru. Noble little pup. Anyway her shell has only manifested 6. previously in my fic Naruto could pull of 4 without going all crazy, and 5 would be over his limit. So Hinata's pulling 6.

Useful: Nope, you can't tell. And on a side note CHEWBACCA DIES?!?! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! CHEWY!!!!!

Rasengan: Doesn't need to, it sinks back into the ground on it's own after a little while in my fic cuz I forgot to say that Pein dispelled it before leaping off. Oops.

Dragon: Hinata knows what she's doing, or at the very least she so drunk on kyuubi chakra that she doesn't know she doesn't know. And don't worry, Kakashi is also interested in finding her.

Lovecomes: Well it's text, it's difficult to read sarcasm I mean there are a few signs (like actually typing !!!!111oneoneeleven!!! at the end of something) but I just felt like asking.

Zeek: I'll explain why Hinata's kyuubi mode is white in a coming chapter but it's one of those pieces that is already there, you just got to put it in place. And yeah, Naruto's still useful.

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Chapter 58: Distraction 

Sakura saw Kakashi leap to where the idol was above the building, to check on Naruto she reasoned. She couldn't give that her full attention however, as Kisame was still in front of her, and still her enemy. If the information Kakashi had retrieved from Tobi was accurate, then her training in the past months should have given her an advantage. The only way to find out was to test. As soon as her hands met Kisame was charging forward barring his enormous weapon. She didn't have the time she needed.

Kisame swung wide with his weapon arcing over the ducking Sakura. As soon as his swing was done he stepped forward and kicked. Sakura couldn't dodge that and stumbled backwards with a bruise forming on her cheek. Kisame was already advancing again, swinging the weapon down and aiming for her head. Sakura dodged and decided to go on offense as well. She moved forward by his blade and lunged a fist at him. He raised and arm to deflect, so Sakura adjusted her aim and punched into his arm. Kisame actually winced from the impact.

Sakura saw his reaction to her attack, and then she saw the flexing of muscles she instantly recognized as his other arm beginning to shift. She leapt away avoiding another slash from samehada and when she landed she was already forming hand signs.

Kisame flexed his arm while rushing forward towards Sakura. Before he could reach her she mysteriously disappeared. Kisame was no fool, he stood completely still and closed his eyes, searching for some hint of movement. There was nothing until he was already bound in the trunk of the tree. He smiled. "Ahhh This seems familiar. You think you can do better then her?"

Sakura began to protrude from the tree right above Kisame. "This time you don't have Itachi to get rid of the Genjutsu." She readied her kunai.

Kisame still smiled. "That's true, I was originally paired with him to offset my weakness to Genjutsu."

Sakura listened to the word he used. _'Originally…'_ She lifted the Kunai and swung it fast at Kisame's throat. Right as it was going to hit he moved, having dispelled the Genjutsu himself. Sakura could see out of the corner of her eye the incoming mass that was samehada, but her forward momentum would make it more difficult. She moved to the side away from the weapon but it still caught her side. _'Crap!'_ The scale like protrusions caught her and ripped a large but shallow gash into her side.

Kisame admired his work. "Shallow, you won't bleed out from that. I'll need to make…Oh?" Sakura's hand started to glow as she placed it on her side. When she removed it the wound had almost completely disappeared. "I see. A medical ninja. So you combine all three aspects of ninja combat. Medical ninjutsu, offensive genjutsu, and chakra enhanced taijutsu. It's impressive that you have such versatility."

Sakura wasn't very interested in his analysis of her abilities, she was too busy analyzing his. _'He was able to break my genjutsu. Taijutsu is my only chance.'_ Sakura charged. Kisame was amazingly fast for his size and the size of his weapon. When he attacked Sakura was thankful every time she slid by his weapon unscathed. Still, she was making progress.

Kisame didn't like how this girl moved. With every attack he was getting farther and farther away from the mark. It wasn't fatigue but simply the girl's talent. She was memorizing his range, speed, and the common areas which he attacked. She was also actually reading his muscle movements, connecting a slight twinge in his chest to the next swing of his sword. It was beginning to annoy him. It was a different kind of opponent, rather then dodging based on instinct or reaction, this woman was figuring out his moves and planning accordingly in instants. Then she counterattacked and came very close to hitting him.

Sakura was now launching attacks of her own regularly in between Kisame's swings. What was giving her hope was that as the fight dragged on Kisame's attacks got farther and farther from hitting her while hers were getting closer and closer to hitting him. What she also began to notice was that Kisame was backing off, trying to get distance between them. She equated it to him trying to create time for ninjutsu, most likely of a water generating type. She couldn't give him that chance.

Kisame had the strangest feeling that he had fought this woman before. It wasn't that she looked at all familiar. He didn't recognize her fighting style. He had never even seen someone with the same color hair. But the way she fought him he could swear that she had an intimate understanding of his fighting style and was taking steps to try and prevent him from using his abilities. If that was how she wanted to play then fine.

Kisame's speed suddenly jumped massively and his next swing actually brushed against Sakura. The contact was so light that she wasn't wounded or impeded, however she did feel slightly fatigued all of a sudden. She adjusted her movements to coincide with his enhanced speed and as a result could not attack as often. She wasn't yet fully used to dodging at this new rate, so the next few attacks were very close to hitting her. She also noticed that she was getting tired quicker then she should be. Eventually Sakura realized something was up, as Kisame seemed to just be getting faster and faster while she had to keep on reforming her chakra for her own attacks. She had no choice but to back away to catch her breath.

Kisame didn't bother keeping up his offensive once she backed away. He had a penchant for toying with people who were obviously weaker then him. And this pink haired kunoichi was surely weaker then him. "Tired?"

Sakura went over every possibility in her head. The only thing she came up with was chakra absorption, but that required hysical contact which he hadn't made. Then the truth hit her. She could remember Naruto once telling her about a "big guy with a big weapon that ate my chakra." She connected the mental dots, that was Kisame Hoshigaki. This was Kisame Hoshigaki, and samehada was the big weapon Naruto had been talking about. "So your sword eats chakra."

It actually surprised Kisame to hear that. But he smiled it away. "Yes. So you know quite a bit about my abilities. Who gave you all that information. The kid? The guy in green? The tree guy?"

Sakura was actually breathing a little heavily. "Actually, we got information on everyone in your organization from one of your guys. Tobi I think."

Kisame's malicious smile disappeared. "Tobi? Are you saying he would betray us? Odd, since he's the one that helped us figure out where the demon went. The leader even said he was an Uchiha. He's a strange one that Tobi. But it doesn't matter. I'm killing you." Kisame started the hand signs for ninjutsu. Sakura responded with her own handsigns. Kisame finished his jutsu and opened his mouth, vomiting a massive amount of water. Sakura jumped to avoid the rushing water and landed on the surface. As soon as she landed her jutsu was done and the illusion was setup.

Kisame was stuck in another illusion, this one just made everything around him glow many different and vibrant colors and become very hazy. He couldn't make out anything. Still, genjutsu couldn't negate gravity so he was still in the water and relatively safe from harm. He released the genjutsu and the world around him went back to normal. Just in time too, as several kunai were flying toward them and he dodged. Kisame shot up to the surface and looked around for his prey. She wasn't hard to find. She was standing there in her same defiant pose.

Kisame rushed her, using a wave to boost his velocity. She was trying to move but he was coming far too fast, and with a mighty swing of samehada he cut her right in half. That wasn't supposed to happen. The two halves of her body exploded into chains and wrapped and bound Kisame down. _'A double layer genjutsu, clever.'_ He got to work focusing chakra to break out of the genjutsu but the illusion was interrupted before he could finish by pain. As soon as the chains were gone he could feel a number of blades embedded in his back. On reaction he swung samehada behind him. The blades hurt more from his weapon hitting them, but it was a precaution to stop any explosive tags from going off, as samehada would drain out their chakra.

Sakura was still behind Kisame, having thrown the kunai into him. She paused for just a second after the throw to watch him swing his sword, which somehow stopped the exploding tags from detonating. He turned his head to glimpse her, and then sank back into the water. Sakura stood her ground, her eyes to the water beneath her. He initially swam away from her and into a nearby building which was partially submerged. He could easily make holes or go through windows giving him easy cover. She needed to take that away. Sakura ran to the building he had just swam into and punched out the corner of the building. Without stopping she ran to the next corner and hit it out as well.

The building groaned and collapsed sideways, impacting into the next building and creating waves with all of it's debris. She couldn't count on Kisame being caught in the destruction, but this did give her an idea about how to limit his mobility advantage. She ran to the next nearest building and with her strength knocked it down in the direction of the other building she had just collapsed. She did this two more times as quickly as she could, creating a small courtyard out of the buildings collapsed remains. This was her battlefield, one in which Kisame could not approach from beneath her, but only above. So she waited, and hoped that Tsunade would never find out she had done this damage.

Kisame saw what she was doing and accepted it, it didn't matter if she knew the angle of the attack it would be a good one. He leapt over the building barricade, carrying samehada over his head for a downward strike. She dodged of course, so that clone dissolved and was quickly followed by several more leaping Kisames aiming for Sakura. She watched their arcs and moved around them. As they hit the water they all dissolved. The last one over was the real Kisame and he fell right through the water. The water surged and formed a small wave that lifted Kisame out of the water and allowed him to make a sweeping slash at Sakura.

The surge in the water threw Sakura off balance so she couldn't move as effectively. Luckily, she wasn't looking to dodge him anymore. She had a kunai in each hand and she lined them up to block the sword. As soon as contact was made she unleashed a massive burst of chakra into her hands, giving herself enough strength to even surprise Kisame. With another push she had him completely shocked. Her shove knocked samehada out of his hands, and sent it flying hard enough to ram it through one of the buildings that surrounding them.

This was her chance, she realized. He was defenseless. Using even more chakra to grip the water as fast as she could, she moved forward toward Kisame. He turned to face her, with only his hands as weapons. Just as before her strength surprised him. The first punch he caught with his own hand and he felt his arm recoil from the impact, so strong it sent his whole body into a slight twist. Then the next punch came, it hit him in the side. For the first time in a long time he felt a couple of his ribs break. Ignoring the pain Kisame reached with his other arm and grabbed Sakura's face. He cut off the chakra flow in his feet and sank abruptly into the water, pulling Sakura in with him.

The shock of submersion paralyzed Sakura for just one moment, but it was long enough for Kisame to wrap his other arm around her. He held her against him underwater, and when they hit the bottom he held her feet off the ground. She couldn't free herself. She could not build up the momentum needed to hit him with chakra, and she could not bring her arms together for ninjutsu or genjutsu. All she had left to do was wait to drown. She held her breath, but the involuntary necessity of breathing forced her to cough. She closed her mouth to avoid letting water into her lungs, but it wouldn't last. In her seemingly pointless attempts to free herself by pounding her fist into Kisame's back she hit something, something that gave her hope.

The twinge of pain in Kisame's back warned him of what was to come, but he couldn't stop it, so he just braced for it. Sakura grabbed the exploding tag attached to the kunai and charged it up. She pulled her arm away, but it was still slightly caught in the blast. The one tag's explosion set off the others. It was just enough force for Kisame to let go of her. She kicked downward, landing one intentionally in his face and broke the surface of the water. She gasped and coughed and breathed in, using her hands on the water to begin lifting herself up. She pulled herself fully out of the water and stood, noting the red tinge around her feet.

Kisame clenched his jaw hard, dealing with the pain. This was not going well. So far the girl was the only one to deal any lasting damage within the fight. Kisame was fed up. He put his hands together and formed hand seals. Of course Sakura was watching him, readying to move away when the attack came. She would have preferred to use another genjutsu, but she just didn't have enough energy for such a wild tactic. Kisame was making water clones. They swam to the surface and burst out all around Sakura, each attacking physically. They weren't that fast, but Sakura was slowing down, all she could do was avoid.

Kisame's clones attacked while Kisame himself sat below readying another jutsu. As Sakura dodged she was suddenly shot up into the air by the emergence of a large water dragon beneath her. It flipped her up into the air and the smashed it's liquid jaws on her. To her it felt like a real dragon. Completely stunned by the attack she began to fall back toward the water, where one of the Kisame clones had dislodged Samehada and passed it to the real Kisame. He was on the surface then, and held the sword out flat, catching Sakura on the broad edge.

She began to move slightly, so Kisame hefted the sword up, launching Sakura into the air. He quickly pulled the sword back and then threw it forward, swatting Sakura in the back. It hit her so hard she flew away from it, sliding in the water and not sinking only on instinct. Her back was bleeding badly, samehada had shredded the surface. "Reach that to heal it, Medical Ninja. Hehehehehe." Kisame started to approach her.

Sakura was wide eyed with the pain. It was horrible, it was unbearable. She thought to herself _'I guess, this is what Naruto and Sasuke go through all the time. How do they deal with it? Oh yeah, there's always something more important, too important. They can never allow themselves to lose. Neither can I.' _Kisame was standing right over her. _'How would Naruto win this? Probably create a thousand clones with rasengans and the sword would explode from eating too much chakra. Wait…Thank you Naruto.'_

Kisame saw her putting her hands together for a jutsu. He swung down with Samehada. It went right through her again. "No more genjutsu bitch!! I'll find you and rip you to pieces!!!" He started gathering his chakra to dispel the genjutsu. He had to close his eyes to concentrate, and he placed samehada in the water next to him, letting float patiently by his side. His chakra was gathered and amassed, and then it was gone and something was happening in front of him.

Kisame opened his eyes and saw Sakura holding samehada, despite the blood streaming from her hands. From her stance she had used it to slice at his chakra, absorbing it. Through her panting she said "This sword isn't very picky about who's chakra to eat, even if I can't get it to cut you." She then lifted the blade up and released it sending it flying into the air. Kisame watched it just like she wanted him to. She gripped her bloody hands together and with the moment she had while Kisame was still distracted she charged up a medical jutsu. His eyes were falling back on her just as her hands reached out. The sword's effects kept his chakra dispersed for long enough that he couldn't move quick enough to defend.

Sakura didn't have the strength left for another punch. But it was one of her sensei's last lessons. _'Strength is good for beating an opponent, but you should know that there are offensive applications of medical ninjutsu. You should only use them if you are about to die, and your only option is taking them down with you.' _That was her intent as she just lightly tapped him on the chest. Shortly after that tap, Kisame gripped his chest and gasped. After that he kneeled, almost just as Sakura did. "I've turned off your heart, and I used all my chakra to do it."

Kisame managed to smile through his inexplicaple pain. "Now you can't treat your own wounds. You'll die too. You weren't stronger then me…you won using tactic and trickery. I wanted to die in combat, not…playing a game. AHH…ahh…you bitch." He sank into the water, which had begun to disperse.

Sakura held herself up on her knees, holding her eyes open with all her effort. Her body was beginning to go numb. The more shallow the water became the more easily recognizable her own blood's presence became. There was a lot of it. "No…I don't…wanna die…Sasuke…Sasuke's promise…I…

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A/N: Please note that until I describe a character as dead, with that specific word, they shouldn't be considered such. She may yet have a chance, but the odds are completely up to me. I know I don't need to do this kind of thing to keep you coming back, but I'm sure it helps, and besides I have lots of fun doing it. Hehehe. Oh, and the next chapter is the Sasuke vs. Itachi fight, so don't miss it. Remember all these chapters are happening at the same time, so please don't get confused. 


	59. Revenge

A/N: Here's the moment you're still waiting for in the real manga because Kishimoto has so much fun teasing us.

Reviews:

BlackHaze: That's what I was aiming for. Dumbass Kisame not realizing how much of a threat she was.

LoveComes: I've never been a Sakura hater, but I did thing they painted her as weak. I chose to do the same early on, then threw her one of the most impressive victories she's ever had.

Sandy: I've estimated that there should be 5-10 more chapters. That's right, we're that close to the end.

Zeek: I'm glad you liked it. I've already determined the victors in all the coming fights as well as the deaths that will be occurring, so It's all a matter of typing it up.

Hinata: Will do.

Useful76: Yeah her chances were pretty thin. But all that training finally paid off.

DragonMan: Haha, interesting idea, I think it depends. Since we people don't need chakra to stay afloat on a raft made of wood, a large enough piece of wood and you wouldn't need any chakra at all, as long as you meet the surface tension of the water. If you have pieces of wood that are too small, say about the size of your foot was to begin with, you can glue yourself to that wood as hard as you want if nothing is keeping the surface tension of the water underneath your feat balanced you will fall through. Though similar in application the actual method in which the two techniques work is completely different. With trees and other solids you travel vertically or even upside down by using the chakra as a binding agent so that you stick to the surface, effectively pushing your feet onto the surface until friction prevents you from dislodging. With water, you use it more to increase the amount of upward tension the water puts on your feet, thus allowing you to remain above the surface. So in my opinion as long as you follow the laws of physics your trick shouldn't work. But who really gives a damn about the laws of physics in a world where people walk on walls and water to begin with? Do whatever you want man.

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Chapter 59: Revenge

Sasuke's obsession was finally in front of him. He was following Itachi through the village. Itachi, the man who had damned Sasuke to this life of hate and sorrow. There was only one outcome in Sasuke's mind. One of them had to die today. It also seemed to him that Itachi could see this outcome. It was why he invited him like this. It was the outcome.

Itachi stopped and turned. Sasuke was charging right at him still, and was in fact drawing his sword. Itachi stood his ground as Sasuke approached. It was a sloppy, inaccurate, predictable slice that Itachi could easily counterattack through. He attempted to do just that, but Sasuke caught the counterattack. A weak and ineffective kick later the two were separated by a short distance.

Sasuke was showing no patience. He would spare his brother no time. To much time had passed. To much time with Itachi roaming the world. He moved forward again, but controlled himself better. Itachi was fast. Sasuke was fast. It was a battle of speed.

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "Not eve going to say hello?" Sasuke kept fighting. "So cold, little brother. But I see through you..." Still no response. "It's written into your face. You do hate me, but not nearly enough." Itachi hit Sasuke in the face.

Sasuke knew that Itachi would have plenty of time for a jutsu while he was stunned form the hit. He leapt backwards and landed, launching a fireball square into the fireball that Itachi had shot. Sasuke turned quickly and deflected the several shuriken that had been thrown at him, and he swung his sword at where Itachi was now standing right next to him. Itachi blocked the blade with kunai, and Sasuke leapt away. His sharingan could tell the difference between the real and the clone. Itachi, the real Itachi was standing just a little ways away.

Sasuke moved on Itachi again. The Itachi clone followed, giving Sasuke two opponents to fight. Since Itachi's chakra was divided with his clone his speed had been reduced. That, added to the fact that Sasuke was targeting only the real Itachi gave the younger brother an advantage. Itachi dispersed the clone without exploding it, he was too close to it for that. His full speed restored, Itachi was once again the faster of the two. With his amazing speed he got behind Sasuke with a kunai to his throat. "Is that it brother? Is this why you came chasing after me?"

Sasuke laughed, much to Itachi's confusion. "Please. I was just testing your capability." Itachi's confusion stemmed from the fact that Sasuke was behind him. The log Sasuke used as a replacement revealed itself, and Itachi spun to stab his kunai into Sasuke. Instead Itachi dropped the kunai, a reaction to the slice left in the top of his hand. "I remember you being much faster then this."

Itachi smiled and examined his hand. It was nothing but a slight gash, Sasuke was showing off. _'What a fool, but I'm glad that he's come so far. I will need to thank Orochimaru for inspiring such strength in him. Finally, a worth while opponent.'_ "At last. I can see what my true strength is, thank you, Sasuke."

Sasuke braced himself as he stared right into Itachi's eyes. Itachi moved, a motion so fast no normal eyes could have tracked it, but Sasuke's sharingan saw it. He was approaching from the left and behind, with a clone behind and to the right. Sasuke threw a shuriken at the clone, just one meant as nothing more then a diversion. The clone moved around the shuriken and then gasped as Sasuke sliced it in half, having approached in that instant. The real Itachi was on him then, attacking with a kunai in each hand. Sasuke spun and dodged. As Sasuke was backing away Itachi looked up at him and opened his mouth, exhaling a large ball of fire at point blank range.

A soon as the fire ball was unleashed Itachi threw his kunai off to his left, and Sasuke deflected them with his sword. In the same instant Itachi grabbed on to Sasuke's arm and pulled it down, throwing a fist at Sasuke's face. Sasuke used his other hand to capture Itachi's incoming fist. Itachi lifted his captured arm upward placing his sleeve right in front of Sasuke's face. Sasuke bent his head to the side as a kunai shot out of the sleeve. As the kunai flew past his head it scratched his cheek. Sasuke's sharingan eyes saw that Itachi had several more loaded into a launching device on his arm, which was fired when he channeled just a small amount of chakra there.

Sasuke released Itachi's hand and brought it up to his face, gathering some of the blood from his cheek wound. It reacted with the weapon tattoos on his arms and within an instant he wielding his own shuriken. Itachi drew another kunai from his mechanism and it quickly met with Sasuke's. They fought like this for a moment, both using only the one arm with kunai. The noise of the clanging Kunai was continuous and incredibly rapid. Eventually Itachi managed to knock away Sasuke's kunai. Sasuke dodged around Itachi's stab and managed to wrench his sword arm away from Itachi's grip. He swung with the sword, but Itachi blocked with the very same kunai. In a blindingly fast move, even by sharingan standards, Itachi thrust his leg out and kicked Sasuke in the gut.

Sasuke was lifted off the ground from the force and speed of the attack. Itachi wasn't letting up yet though. He rushed forward and Sasuke tracked his movement. It was going to be a punch to the chest. He brought his sword into position to cut off Itachi's arm when the time was right. Itachi saw Sasuke's movements and repositioned to kick Sasuke in the side. Sasuke did take the hit, but in the same instant he called out. "Chidori Current!"

Itachi's body seemed to vibrate for a moment and after that he was immobilized. _'A genjutsu? No, this is a lightning jutsu, it numbs the body through an electric current. But not completely, just enough to make me vulnerable.'_ Itachi was thrown away from Sasuke by the jutsu, and he landed on his feet but quickly lost his balance and fell to his back. Sasuke landed from midair and was already moving towards him. Itachi surged his chakra through his body, reviving each part individually. As Sasuke appeared above him he completed enough to dodge being impaled by Sasuke's sword. As he stood up he drew a kunai to block Sasuke's next swing.

Sasuke's aimed his sword right for Itachi's chest, which was precisely where Itachi raised the kunai to defend himself. Sasuke's lightning charged sword slid cleanly through the kunai, and continued it's journey toward Itachi's body. Despite being shocked to see the blade's enhanced power Itachi managed duck down beneath Sasuke's slice. He also kicked out, catching the tip of his destroyed kunai with his foot and burying it into Sasuke's leg with the kick. Sasuke's injured leg went back causing him to kneel. He quickly dropped the sword and formed hand signs. At seeing the signs Itachi was both surprised and proud, but more importantly cautious. "AMATERASU!!"

The black flames blasted forward and left a swath of destruction along the roof they were standing on. Itachi had dodged to the side and quickly and watched it. When his eyes went back to Sasuke, his little brother was already gazing right back at him. "Wasteful, you are a fool to use those eyes when the opponent can so easily move away."

Sasuke was smiling. "Look again." Itachi followed where Sasuke was looking. There were three holes in the upper portion of Itachi's cloak, clearly where kunai or shuriken had been thrown but missed due to the garment being pulled back by his fast move. "You were only a little faster then I anticipated. Next time they will go straight through your heart."

Itachi noticed something else. Sasuke wasn't even winded after the use of Amaterasu, which would normally require Itachi some breather time. In fact his ability to launch the technique and simultaneously launch additional weaponry at a moving target is something that Itachi doubted his ability to do. _'Could he really have advanced this much?'_

Sasuke looked Itachi right in the eye, displaying his Mangekyo Sharingan. "Why didn't you use Tsukuyomi against me? You had every chance."

Itachi shook his head. "You have the Mangekyo as well, you can resist the effects unless you are completely drained of chakra."

Sasuke picked up his sword and positioned himself for combat. "You didn't know I had these eyes."

Itachi reached up and undid the clasp on the collar of his cloak, revealing his face. "Yes. The truth is I wanted to fight you Sasuke. I've always waited for the day when you would finally be strong enough to offer me a worthy opponent. I need to prove my strength, to myself. You've don well Sasuke. Today I will finish what I started that day, and I will be the last remaining Uchiha." _'You as well, Madara.'_ Itachi activated his Mangekyo.

Sasuke took off in Itachi's direction. His sword was still charged from the Chidori Current, so Itachi didn't even bother trying to block it, dancing around the blade in lightning fast dodges instead. For his counterattacks he relied on his own hands and feet. Though neither of them could land a hit. Itachi was also managing the space between them so he wouldn't get caught in another Chidori Current. In a split second break between attacks Itachi formed a hand sign and created a shadow clone. Itachi quickly leapt away and detonated the clone immediately. As soon as he landed he used another jutsu to surround his body with an earthen shield formed from the roof he was standing on. Several shuriken lodged themselves in the earth shiled.

The muddy shield that surrounded Itachi morphed into another Itachi, a mud clone. In it's hands were all the shuriken that Sasuke had thrown at Itachi. Lukily he had only thrown one real shuriken, the others were just shuriken shadow clones. When they disappeared the earth clone examined it's one remaining shuriken and threw it away before leaping at Sasuke. Sasuke leapt at it as well, meeting it in mid air and clashing with it. Sasuke did this because he knew that earth clones could not be exploded like shadow clones.

While Sasuke fought against the earth clone Itachi prepared his next move. First, he launched a fire jutsu at the two of them, which they both dodged. Itachi quickly closed in on Sasuke after that, catching him in a short lived battle before the earth clone arrived again. Sasuke attacked the earth clone as soon as it arrived. The clone melted into mud and Sasuke turned his attention back to Itachi, only to see a massive black flame already moving at him from right there. He dodged as fast as he could, but the blade of his sword was caught in the flame and most of it was completely melted away by the black fire.

Sasuke threw the blade away and brought his hand to his mouth. He bit his finger and brought two kunai out of his arm tattoos just as Itachi drew some from his arm mechanism. Then they were at it again, attacking and defending at lightning speeds. Sasuke weighed his options. _'Amaterasu does use too much chakra, if I use it again I need to make sure I can hit. Susanoo will take to long to use, he would never let me finish it. Tsukuyomi won't work until he's drained of his chakra. He's seen Chidori current, so that won't work again. And If I use the Chidori katana I will need to kill him with that attack, otherwise it will never work again. So much that can go wrong.'_

Itachi was also examining his options, sincerely understanding how powerful an opponent he was faced with. As they fought with their kunai Sasuke actually managed to tear through one of the more flowing parts of his cloak. By far closer to a hit then Itachi had managed so far. Itachi blocked some last attacks with his kunai and then dropped them. He quickly performed a jutsu. A fiery tornado shot up around Itachi and drove Sasuke away. Sasuke retaliated by making his own hand signs. A water tower atop the building bulged and burst and the water flowed through the air and crashed into the fire surrounding Itachi.

Itachi leapt up as the water was about to hit and in mid air he threw a kunai at Sasuke. Sasuke picked his kunai back up and deflected the incoming projectile. As soon as it was deflected he threw one of his own kunai at the deflected projectile. Itachi's Kunai transformed into a clone of him that was stabbed by Sasuke's loosed weapon and dispersed. The real Itachi moved forward and managed to gash Sasuke's arm before he could raise his defense.

Sasuke retaliated by kicking Itachi in the chest and moving forward with his remaining Kunai as a weapon. At the last second he dropped the kunai and instead he was wielding his Chidori katana, extended to a great length. Itachi couldn't dodge it completely, it sliced his side and he began to bleed. Itachi moved right at Sasuke and formed hand signs. Right as he reached Sasuke he grabbed at the arm wielding the lightning sword and a number of gashes appeared in Sasuke's arm, forcing him to release the blade.

The battle was changing it's shape. Both of them were beginning to feel the effects of their fight. Their chakra was beginning to drop noticeably and it affected their defensive movements more then their offensive. As such, in this next stage of combat they began to hit each other more often.

The fight dragged on. Itachi managed to grab Sasuke's head and knee him in the face. Right after that, Sasuke punched Itachi in the gut and then again in the cheek. Itachi Retaliated by tripping Sasuke and then slamming him downward with an arm sweep. As he hit the ground Sasuke performed a fireball jutsu and launched it straight up, surrounding himself in the flame. He used the time to quickly stand up and move in on Itachi once more. Sasuke stabbed his one remaining kunai into Itachi's shoulder. With his other had he quickly punched Itachi's face and quickly spun into a round house kick. Itachi ducked the kick and punched Sasuke in the kidney before ripping the kunai out of his arm.

Itachi examined the weapon coated in his blood. Sasuke had also paused. They both knew what was coming. Itachi face was stone as he closed his eyes to reflect. "I overestimated…myself. You will win, little brother."

Sasuke's face didn't react. "Yes, I know."

Itachi opened his eyes and looked at Sasuke. The Sharingan allowed him to see chakra levels, as well as examine physical fatigue. Sasuke had a larger remaining chakra reserve, and was overall the least beaten of the two of them. Any decent ninja could see that Sasuke would win in a prolonged fight. Itachi had doubted his chances after first seeing Sasuke use Amaterasu. The overall amount of chakra the jutsu used, compared to the decrease in Sasuke's overall chakra aura afterwards told Itachi plainly and clearly that Sasuke had more chakra then even he did. "Just barely. Shall we finish this then?"

Sasuke smiled. "No."

That caught Itachi off guard. "Then what? Would you just let me walk away?"

Sasuke continued to smile. "No. Tsukuyomi."

Itachi didn't believe it. Sasuke couldn't have had that much chakra in reserve. And yet, here they were. Itachi knew this place. It was the Uchiha district. And Sasuke was standing in front of him, standing above him. Itachi had become small, the size of a young boy. He looked back up to Sasuke with wide eyes.

Sasuke stood before Itachi as the god of this realm. "I won't kill you Itachi. No, I won't lower myself to your level. I will keep you alive for years to come. You will live, but you will cause no harm to anyone. Before that begins though, I will give out justice for all the people who's lives you ended. For the next seven days, you will relive the day you massacred your own clan, but you will do so as if you were the victims."

Sasuke disappeared. Instead Itachi saw his own past incarnation, brandishing shuriken. His past self threw them and the filled his current self's body. He winced through the pain when it was suddenly gone, instead, he was standing somewhere else, looking at his past self bearing a sword.

* * *

Barely a moment later Itachi collapsed. Sasuke, hunched and held his arm carefully. He was almost completely drained of chakra, but it was done. A lifetime of fear and hatred seemed to just evaporate in an instant. He leapt over to his brother's body. He knelt at his brother's side. Sasuke had killed his brother a thousand times over, taking on his own face to complete the illusion. There was a voice in the back of Sasuke's mind that shouted with rage. It screamed that given the opportunity to kill Itachi a thousand more times it would and would still be unsatisfied.

But there was another voice that was much louder. It was the same voice that was with him whenever he was near Sakura. The voice that had been gaining so much more power in his mind. That voice wished that things had been different. That Itachi had not been driven to do such horrible things. "I still don't know why you did it brother. I don't think I ever will. But it's over. You are never harming anyone ever again."

Sasuke picked up Itachi's limp body and slung it over his shoulder. Tired as he was he was sure he could reach the shelters where everyone had gathered. Before he left he wondered where Sakura was, and hoped that she wasn't hurt.

* * *

A/N: A fitting end for Itachi I'd say. Next chapter is happening in the same time frame again, this time it's Orochimaru who's being targeted. 


	60. Sannin

A/N: The sannin fight. This one was fun to write.

Reviews:

Hinata: How I come up with ideas? Well I have an unorthodox way for how I think up all the stories I plan on writing someday. Manual Labor. And not just working out I mean actual manual labor. Building furniture, cleaning the house, or anything else like that. For some reason when I'm working my mind just wanders and starts drifting through my thoughts. As that happens I start making connections and thinking up new things. When I put that into a chronological form, I get a story. Of course I do this over long periods of time. One other trick I use for getting new ideas is just look around, pay attention to small details in the world around you. The inspiration for the Yuukiton trick I made up during my Chunin exams was in a video game where a character would get paralyzed as a status ailment, and the icon was a little lightning bolt. I thought _'hey, that's a good idea. Now I just need to overcomplicate it to make it my own while also following the rules of the narutoverse.'_ Thus yuukiton was made up. So yeah, pay attention but don't concentrate. And forgive me for giving enigmatic advice.

Ryuu: Me? Evil? Well ok maybe a little. Anyway read to find out.

Rasengan: hehe

BlackHaze: Yeah he's alive alright, just dead from the neck up.

Lovecomes: Oh I'll get back to Hinata soon enough, but not until I've driven you mad with these very awesome side battles.

Dimitri: Thanks.

Useful: Not yet, but soon. That should answer both your questions.

Zeek: He's not dead he's just been stuck in a permanent coma. So he's not much better then dead, but he is still alive. And Yeah I'll try.

DragonMan: Well here it is.

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Chapter 60: Sannin

Orochimaru knew he was being tailed by his own old teammates. It made him smile. If he traveled at top speed they would never be able to catch up. He could get away. This was the smarter thing to do. He performed the summoning jutsu creating a gigantic python and he ordered it to attack the two that were following him. Then he kept going.

The snake quickly approached Jiraiya and Tsunade. Jiraiya performed hand signs and unleashed a missile of fire that tore through the snake and left very little behind. Then he looked at Tsunade. "Tsunade! I know you can move quicker then this. Go ahead and stop him."

Tsunade nodded. "Alright then. Just catch up quickly." Tsunade ran to the edge of the building she just landed on instead of jumping to the next one. Once over the edge she stood on the side of the building and crouched. When she leapt away she left an enormous crater in the building which quickly collapsed. The thrust she took off with was massive, and she flew past Jiraiya without even needing to step down again. She kept the insane velocity up until she caught up with Orochimaru. She approached him so fast that she caught him off guard and grabbed his head.

Tsunade used Orochimaru's face like a brake, sliding it across the rooftop until she came to a stop. As soon as they stopped she let go and slammed her other fist into the back of his head, crushing it through the very roof they were on. Still she couldn't let up. She raised her fist up to punch the rest of him through the roof but was stopped when Orochimaru's leg wrapped around her arm. The other leg kicked her in the face and then wrapped around her neck.

Orochimaru pulled his face up out of the hole in the roof. His face was scratched and scarred up, and he wasn't smiling. Tsunade was pulling at the leg wrapped around her neck with her free hand, giving herself just enough leeway to breathe. "I should have done this years ago." Orochimaru tightened his grip, reaching up with his arms to pull Tsunade's away from her neck.

Jiraiya arrived just in time to fill Orochimaru's body with several kunai. As he landed he used one last kunai to sever Orochimaru's legs, freeing Tsunade from his grip. Orochimaru quickly retreated, slithering his body into the hold where his face had been buried. Jiraiya helped Tsunade stand up. "Just in time. Now then, I hope you don't mind m destroying this building."

Tsunade dusted herself off. "Go ahead, collateral damage isn't one of my concerns right now."

Jiraiya smiled. "Alright then. Jump and spot him." The both leapt away while Jiraiya bit his finger and formed his hand signs. "Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Jutsu!!" Tsunade winced at the name of his jutsu but let it slide. The enormous toad appeared in mid air and slammed down flattening the house into the ground. As soon as the house was no more the frog leapt into the air and turned it's face down. Jiraiya was now riding it's back while Tsunade was still flying through the air. Part of the destroyed house suddenly exploded outward as Orochimaru began his move.

Tsunade saw him and pointed. Jiraiya saw as well and instructed the toad to hit that area with a water bullet. Of course Orochimaru slithered away form the bullet before it hit, but Tsunade tracked his direction and was already heading to cut him off. She landed right in front of him with a kick that cratered the ground. It would have been right on him, but he saw her coming and stopped. Tsunade quickly stood up from her position in the crater and ran right at Orochimaru. He dodged her attacks with his slithering movements.

Orochimaru leapt away from her as the enormous Katana of Jiraiya's toad slammed down between them. As Orochimaru was moving away he performed another summoning jutsu and one of his giant snakes lashed out at the toad. As the two enormous beasts grappled Jiraiya leapt off and pursued Orochimaru. As soon as he landed in front of his old teammate he used a fire jutsu. Orochimaru dived right through it, shedding his burnt skin and diving right at Jiraiya. Jiraiya dodged the initial attack and countered.

Orochimaru was getting fed up with this. He decided to end it. After dodging another attack from Jiraiya he drew his sword from his mouth, and bore it against Jiraiya. Jiraiya would be forced to dodge all of Orochimaru's attacks, there was no way to block the Kusanagi. Or so he thought. One of Orochimaru's slices could not be dodged, instead Jiraiya raised his arms and defended with his gauntlets. Orochimaru couldn't believe it, the blade was stopped.

Jiraiya pushed the Kusanagi away and punched Orochimaru in the face. When Orochimaru steadied himself he could see a glint of black metal from inside the gauntlet that Jiraiya had guarded with. Jiraiya lifted his arm and displayed the gauntlet. "Adamantine plates."

Orochimaru smiled. "Adamantine, a substance that this blade cannot easily cut. So you have prepared." Jiraiya rushed Orochimaru, attacking him fiercely. Despite having the gauntlets which would allow him to block the sword he preferred dodging. The plates would only defend so much. Eventually the blade would win. Still Jiraiya considered his chances good, considering who he was working with. Jiraiya changed tact and created and dropped, transforming the ground under Orochimaru's feet into a quicksand like material.

At that moment Tsunade came into view descending on Orochimaru's position with one of the swords of the enormous toad raised above her head. She slammed it down on his position with such force that the entire street seemed to erupt. Dirt flew into the air obscuring their sight. Neither of them had any illusions about Orochimaru being defeated yet. They leapt to the roof tops, recounting that he enjoyed attacking from underground.

The toad and the snake had gone, so Orochimaru was their only concern, but his location was their problem. Jiraiya examined their surroundings and their situation. They heard the attack coming and prepared. Orochimaru broke through the roof and whipped out at them. His sword was aimed at Tsunade, who did not have the same defense against it as Jiraiya. For Jiraiya, Orochimaru stretched his neck and opened his mouth wide, vomiting an enormous snake that was severely disproportionate to Orochimaru's size. Jiraiya caught it's face with his hands and held it's mouth open to avoid being swallowed. Tsunade dodged around the Kusanagi and ripped Orochimaru's arm clean off.

The dismembered limb was quickly replaced by several snakes that struck out and entwined themselves around Tsunade. The Kusanagi hovered in front of her. She couldn't move and Jiraiya was being pushed farther and farther away by the snake, which had fully separated itself from Orochimaru's mouth. Finally Jiraiya found some footing and through the snake off balance. With the free moment Jiraiya dodged around the snake's face and grabbed it's tail. With a mighty swing he sent the creature flying away. As soon as that was done he turned to see how Tsunade was doing.

Tsunade had channeled a massive amount of chakra into her foot and tapped it, as it was the only movement she could make. She did this with such force that the roof collapsed inward, throwing Orochimaru off balance and loosening her bonds. The Kusanagi moved at her but she was able to avoid it. Right after that she used the nearby rubble and launched it at Orochimaru, using it as both projectile and cover for her own approach. Orochimaru slithered around the incoming debris and was quickly met with Tsunade's fist. It sent him flying away into the air.

When Jiraiya saw Orochimaru flying out of the building like that he couldn't pass up the attempt. He formed his hand signs and shot an enormous fireball at Orochimaru. Orochimaru saw it coming, but only right as it engulfed him. When Orochimaru emerged from the blaze he wasn't moving. He fell to the ground. Once he landed Orochimaru's mouth opened and a new version of his body crawled out, clean and intact. "My my…The two of them together are putting such an incredible strain on this body of mine. So much regenerating and I haven't even maimed one of them yet. Is this any way to treat your friend? Jiraiya? Tsunade?"

They were looking at him. Tsunade stepped forward. "You killed Sarutobi-sensei."

Orochimaru laughed. "You have the story all wrong. Sarutobi killed himself. Ask anyone who was there that day. He sacrificed himself in a misguided attempt to stop my ability to use jutsu. All I had to do was move to another body though, and my limbs are fine."

Jiraiya was now the one who was angered. "Have you no respect for the man who trained you? Who took you in like a son?"

Orochimaru smiled. "Why would I respect him? He's dead. He died a pathetic death, as all death is. How old are both of you? I have felt that age in our fight. You two are ancient, added with he strain of the lives you have lived, neither of you has much longer to live. In this form alone the age of this flesh is less then half of yours."

Tsunade clenched her fist. "You can't regenerate forever, eventually you will die."

Orochimaru's sword returned to his hand. "You will die long before that." He charged forward and extended the blade out slashing at them as he approached. Of course they avoided the strikes. When he got in close he held the sword in his right hand and his left arm burst into five snakes. The snakes assaulted Jiraiya but he deflected them and dove for Tsunade. She dodged the Kusanagi and backed up to let Jiraiya into the gap. Jiraiya used his gauntlet plates to knock the Kusanagi away. As soon as the sword was knocked from in front of her she rushed around Jiraiya and shoved her fist into Orochimaru's face. Jiraiya grabbed his arm so even as he flew away Orochimaru wasn't getting away from the two of them.

His body flew and then was halted abruptly when the arm stretched to it's maximum. Jiraiya noticed his and pulled on the arm, drawing Orochimaru back. He stopped when Orochimaru's arm burst into snakes which tried to bite him. Tsunade ran forward and avoided a counterattack from the Kusanagi. She reached Orochimaru and started punching. When he began to attack her she dropped bac and began performing a jutsu. Orochimaru slashed at her once more and missed allowing her to complete the summoning jutsu.

A number of slugs appeared around Orochimaru's feet and legs, partially attached to him but also stuck to the ground. As soon as he was bound, Tsunade attacked, punching Orochimaru in the face. The binding the slugs offered was so great that his feet didn't move, instead he fell backwards and slammed into the ground with a loud thud. His hands were immediately bound by more slugs, and one more crawled over his face. The slugs were not only stuck on him very well, they were locking chakra out of wherever they touched. Tsunade moved close to Orochimaru and knelt. She began punching him over and over again in the chest and stomach. With her slugs in place Orochimaru couldn't move or use jutsu. He couldn't even shed his skin to heal, as that required wither his mouth or an open wound. He felt everyone of her punches.

Jiraiya approached slowly. Tsunade was unleashing anger not only towards Orochimaru, but for other reasons as well. Though she did a good job of hiding it, Tsunade always felt some guilt for not being there to help her teacher. Guilt for having abandoned her village. All of her guilt and anger was being unleashed into Orochimaru's body. Jiraiya understood the feeling. Given her position he would be doing the same thing.

Eventually Tsunade's rage began to cool. Pounding away like that had obviously hurt Orochimaru, but he was still alive and she was getting a little tired. Jiraiya finally reached her. Her slugs were running out of the strength they needed to cut off chakra. "Tsunade get rid of the slugs." He started his hand signs and just as he finished The slugs disappeared. Orochimaru put his hands together and began sinking into the ground. Jiraiya saw that coming. He wasn't using a fire jutsu, yet. The earth around them began to transform so Jiraiya and Tsunade leapt away to avoid it. The entire street morphed into a large swamp like area.

Tsnade raised her arms in preparation for what was coming next. She understood that this swamp wasn't a true swamp, but was speacial made by Jiraiya to be made of extremely flammable elements, such as oil, which he could summon at will. Jiraiya launched a fireball into it and took cover. The explosion was massive.

Orochimaru was caught in the middle of the inferno but was able to shed another skin. From his point of view it made no sense. _'How am I losing so much chakra? They can't possibly be doing that much damage to my body.'_ Shedding his body had caused him to drop his sword, but before he could retrieve it a large tongue shot into the smoky mess and grabbed him, pulling him away abruptly. The toad that had him whipped him into the ground and then flung him into the air. Once air born he was hit with a large piece of rubble swung by Tsunade and crushed into a nearby building. Once the object of his injury was removed he moved up to the roof of the building and paused. _'They can't be this strong. The last time we fought I was crippled and their attacks weren't this effective. Granted, he had been poisoned and she was injured from Kabuto's assault. What has changed?'_

Jiraiya's toad leapt up to the top of the roof with Jiraiya riding shotgun. The toad's tongue lashed out but Orochimaru dodged and used it as a bridge, slithering along it's length in order to approach Jiraiya. With a twitch of his fingers the Kusanagi rushed back to Orochimaru's hands. He reached the top of the toad with the sword in hand, but rather then swinging it he stretched his arm out in a circle around Jiraiya. Once his arm completed one full circle he stabbed the blade toward Jiraiya. Jiraiya leapt up to avoid the blade. Orochimaru's stretched out arm suddenly tightened around Jiraiya's legs, halting his jump.

Tsunade was suddenly there holding back the Kusanagi from striking again and crushing Orochimaru's hands in the process. She also reached and grabbed the part of his arm that was around Jiraiya's legs, loosening it just enough for Jiraiya to drop out and flip himself upright. With that done Tsunade released the arm and grabbed Orochimaru's other hand which he had attacked her with. When he also reached out with his tongue to attack her she brought her legs up and trapped it between her feet. She used the momentum from this motion and spun all of Orochimaru's extended limbs together, tying them into a knot. She pulled on the amalgamation of limbs and climbed along them until she was in Orochimaru's face again.

Jiraiya looked up in time to see Tsunade unleashing several more punches into Orochimaru. Jiraiya also saw Orochimaru's legs bending around behind Tsunade. He leapt up and threw a kunai into each leg. When he reached the legs he grabbed the kunai and used them as leverage to launch up to be above Orochimaru and Tsunade. Orochimaru finally got his tongue free from the knot and tried to strangle Tsunade with it, but she just grabbed it and shoved it back into his mouth with another burst of chakra. This was the last hit she made before she leapt away and Jiraiya launched yet another fireball, scorching him again.

Orochimaru finally landed on a roof with a loud thud. Tsunade watched it as Jiraiya landed near her. "I can't keep this going much longer."

Jiraiya stared at Orochimaru. "I don't think we'll need much longer, if Sasuke was accurate."

Orochimaru couldn't immediately regenerate his flesh. They had burnt him and beaten him so much, Kabuto's body simply couldn't handle it even with Orochimaru enhancing it. _'If I leave now, it will be two years before I can enter a new body. But I cannot maintain this flesh any longer, they have all but destroyed it. How dare they do this to us Kabuto. Two years without the ability to use jutsu. But to finally kill off these nuisances. Very well then.'_ Orochimaru's body convulsed and bulged. From within it Orochimaru's true form emerged. The enormous white snake, composed of the smaller snakes.

Jiraiya stared into the distorted face of what had once, long ago, been his friend. "So, this is what you have become."

Orochimaru looked back and forth between the two of them. "Yess, thiss is what I am now, thankss to you. I cannot take another body for two more years, I cannot use jutsu for two years. But the two of you will be dead. That will be enough."

Jiraiya tensed. _'His true form, he should be vulnerable. It's just as we discussed Tsunade, do your part.'_ "TSUNADE RUN!!" She was shocked at first but jumped when she saw Orochimaru moving at them so quickly. Jiraiya was hit head on by the monster and was pushed backwards and off the building. Jiraiya fell with a bloody gash in his chest that had been inflicted by Orochimaru at some point in the charge. Jiraiya lifted himself off the ground and looked around for the monster. He didn't have to look hard, Orochimaru was right in front of him in the street. He formed his hand seals and put them on the ground. His most powerful jutsu, the toad stomach bind. It surrounded them but Orochimaru didn't even react.

Orochimaru's face no longer showed emotions, it was locked in a massive and open mouthed smile. "This will do you no good Jiraiya. I will simply kill you and the escape. Then I will kill Tsunade. Then I will kill every single person in this village."

Jiraiya gritted hi teeth. "I would never let that happen Orochimaru. There was a time I sought to help you, but today I've aimed only to kill you. I will still succeed at that." The toad's stomach formed several tendrils which attacked Orochimaru. Orochimaru's snake like body unleashed parts of itself which easily bit through the tendrils. Then Orochimaru rushed at him again. Jiraiya had shaped the stomach like the street. It was narrow and long, with nowhere to dodge something like Orochimaru. He became crushed up against the wall and was sliced in many places by the monsters fangs and it's composite snakes.

When Orochimaru backed off Jiraiya was hunched over and gasping for air, with his blood spilling profusely. "Any last words, old friend?"

Jiraiya nodded. He gripped his hands into the toad stomach, and the top of the fleshy chamber opened revealing an enormous slug. Atop Katsuyu's head stood Tsunade. "Full strength Katsuyu, no mercy!"

Orochimaru was bound by several fleshy tendrils again. Katsuyu exhaled and a large quantity of acid sprayed out, coating Orochimaru's face. Orochimaru reared and screamed in pain, while Katsuyu continued to spray more acid along the monsters body. The composite snakes tried to attack but they were either hit by the acid or held back by more tendrils of toad flesh. Eventually all sign of a counterattack began to fade, and the monster fell, still.

As soon as he was sure Jiraiya released the toad stomach and dropped flat on his face. Tsunade thanked the slug queen before dropping down and flipping Jiraiya face up to see his wounds. They were bad. "Jiraiya, I'm going to use my sealed chakra to…"

Jiraiya shook his head. "Don't bother. It will only shorten delay the inevitable. I've done what I needed to do."

Blood was flowing out of his mouth, meaning the wounds were deeper then she had initially thought. She listened to what he said though, and understood. "Alright then. Any last requests?"

Jiraiya smiled. "Wanna give me a show?"

Tsunade was irked at first but shook it off and smiled. "Don't make me hit you when you're about to die."

He half laughed and half coughed which only brought up more blood. "Yeah…Well, it was worth a try…"

He was no longer alive, she knew that. Tsunade reached forward and closed Jiraiya's eyes. She then turned to the remains of Orochimaru, what little there were. They were disgusting to her. She looked at the surroundings. She saw a nearby awning and ripped it away from the building. She then dropped it down on top of the remaining pieces of the snake. With a quick fire jutsu of low intensity she set it ablaze. She carried Jiraiya's body a decent distance away from the fire and put him down.

Then she leapt up to asses the situation. There were still large numbers of sound ninja moving through the village but for the most part it looked like they had stopped sending in new soldiers. The problem was that all the sound ninja were heading toward the monument, and even from here the signs of the battle were amazing. "So the battle continues, even now." She took off toward the shelters.

* * *

A/N: Well, that's the second character death. I've met my minimum quota for bloodshed. Remember that more people could die, and people can live through quite a lot. Anyway there's only one more solo Akatsuki left to get. If you don't remember from when they all split up, it's Deidara, and there were a couple people after him. Plus, maybe a surprise guest.

Special A/N: It was bound to happen eventually, I messed up. The original ending to this chapter featured some sappy dialogue between Tsunade and Jiraiya about Naruto. Naruto who they think is dead. OOOPS. I altered the ending about 3 hours after the initial post, right after realizing my mistake. Did anyone else catch it in that time?


	61. Teamwork

A/N: damn this chapter is long, but I have a reason, it was three versus one. Three you ask? Well, I'm a selfish writer. I wanted at least of my OCs to be represented in a fight against the akatsuki, so yeah I slipped him in there for this fight. Good thing I did too, cuz I just couldn't see Temari and Shikamaru beating Deidara by themselves, he's one tough bastard.

Reviews:

Echizen: I know, I just thought it would be a funny joke for all those people who aren't bilingual.

Dragonman: I agree with everything you said about Jiraiya in this review.

Ryuu: It happens, and thanks.

Animegirl: At least they died honorably.

Hinata: Well I hope it helps you though I doubt it will. I'm very eccentric in my thinking process.

Zeek: I think you're talking about the conversation that didn't happen. For those of you that don't know what that's about go back and check the very end of chapter 60.

Lovecomes: These chapters are actually chapter. Just a means to build up the suspense before the really fun stuff starts.

Rasengan: Huh?

* * *

Chapter 61: Teamwork 

The shelters were besieged by sound ninja. Every ninja that was present to fight them was, but the fight just dragged on. Many of the leaf ninja were thankful for the aid they were receiving, two full squads of sand ninja, led by the Kazekage's siblings, and one three man squad from kumogakure. Someone noticed though that there were only seven sand ninja fighting alongside them, and only two of the cloud ninja were present. This ninja was Matsuri. She leapt down behind Kankuro and used her own variation of the puppet jutsu, which she had developed to force opponents to stop by directly manipulating their limbs.

Kankuro spun around and used Karasu to kill the sound ninja Matsuri had stopped. She then turned to talk with the jonin. "Kankuro-san, where is Temari-san and that other cloud ninja?"

Kankuro didn't see anyone immediately threatening them so he answered her as best as he could. "Temari is assisting in the take down of the Akatsuki, but I don't know about the cloud ninja I'll check." He leapt atop Sasnshouo and the enormous puppet jumped, carrying it's controller to the rooftops. From there he saw two of the three cloud ninja that had been placed under his command. He quickly approached the two of them.

Ikazuchi unleashed his wires upon several incoming enemies and disabled all of them through electrocution. His partner, Mizore stood still as a few other sound nin jumped onto the roof she standing on. As they landed they slipped and fell, sliding across Mizore's specially prepared water. Tripped up as they were she was able to easily approach and kill each of them with a single kunai. That's when Kankuro arrived. Ikazuchi shouldered his iron rod and approached the jonin who was effectively their commanding officer. "What is it?"

Kankuro looked around. "Where did your other teammate go?"

Ikazuchi and Mizore showed signs of fear as they looked around for him, but could not find him. Mizore groaned and slapped her head. "Damn it all we lost track of him during the fight. He could be anywhere doing anything!"

Ikazuchi took a deep breath and calmed himself. "No, we have orders directly from the Raikage himself. Not even Kouumaru is foolish enough to disobey those orders."

* * *

Deidara was flying high above Konoha on his way out. "Too bad, leaving such a beautifully built city without blowing it up. Oh well, orders are orders and I don't want to get kicked out like that idiot Kisame. Still, a little action would liven up my day." At that moment his bird was enveloped in a strange cyclone that surrounded it and left many gashes in the bird's belly. Deidara looked over the edge to see who had attacked him and caught sight of a woman in a black dress wielding an enormous fan. Behind her was a konoha ninja. 

Shikamaru caught up to Temari only after she had launched her attack. "Damn it Temari we should have gone to get help. Do you really think you can take him on by yourself?"

Temari readied her fan for another swing. "I've got your help, and didn't you defeat one of these guys on your own?"

Shikamaru walked up right beside her and kept his eyes on the bird above them. "Yeah, but I had a trap laid out in advance, no such luck with this guy. Plus, this guy might be even stronger then the guy I fought. Given our current situation I can't even hit him. From what I've heard about this guy he attacks from long range and uses explosives. My abilities are all medium range, and even then I need a shadow to work with, that bird is too high to cast a usable shadow and he's too far away for me to use his." Shikamaru ducked a little as Temari swung her great fan, sending another cyclone up into the belly of the bird. "And you are too far away to accurately aim the slashes of you jutsu, or make deep cuts. We don't have what it takes."

Temari turned and looked at Shikamaru. "You run off and get help then, but I'm not letting him out of my sights."

As a squad of clay birds appeared Shikamaru tensed. "Alright Temari, you win. He's obviously not going to let us run away now that we've got his attention. I still don't think we can win this, but if we're gonna have a shot I need you to be willing to listen to my plan." Temari nodded, after all, this was the same Shikamaru that had out smarted her at the Chunin exams. "When those birds attack I want you to hold them off with your wind attacks. Try to disable them if you can. Don't look for me it will only lead his eyes to me as well." She nodded.

Temari didn't hear anything else from Shikamaru. She turned her head a little to check but he was gone.

Deidara smiled. "So, he abandoned her. He ran back into the village, toward the monument. If I pursue I'll only draw more attention to myself. Better to kill the girl and just leave." His birds dived at the sand ninja, and she defended with a large blast of wind which pushed the birds away. The clay creatures quickly regained their balance and closed on her again. Temari let them get closer this time, and the burst of wind she created cut many of the bird's wings off, making them drop to the ground. Deidara considered this a stroke of good luck. Even wingless his creations could still move. The grounded birds began to walk around to the backside of the building, and began crawling up the side to flank Temari. The remaining birds were flying in a more intricate pattern to avoid the cutting wind that Temari was using against them, and they were slowly getting closer and closer.

Temari heard something behind her and turned, the wingless birds were running at her, and in that instant the flying birds began a dive. She was surrounded. Before she could get off one last swing with her fan to try and defend herself she suddenly lost her footing. She landed in Shikamaru's arms on the ground level of the building she had just been standing on top of. He had made holes in all three of it's floors and cut out the roof just before the explosive monsters closed on her.

Shikamaru put her back on her feet and ran to the door. "The buildings in this area have awnings which should give us cover, we have maybe 20 seconds before he realizes you weren't in that explosion and I need to get close to him in that time. So you're going to send me up there." She wanted to slap him for scarring her like that, and then for holding her like that, but it would have to wait. If Shikamaru was right and they had a chance to get him close to the enemy there was no way she could pass it up.

Both of them ran as fast as they could, using the buildings for cover until they were right underneath the bird. They had to move fast. First they leapt to the roof tops, and then they leapt again. At the top of this jump Shikamaru put his feet onto the edge of Temari's fan. She swung it hard and sent Shikamaru flying up towards the bird with a gust of wind to help him along. He was moving very fast and was high off the ground. Probably too high to jump down from and land without harm, but beating this guy came before getting back to the ground anyway. He flipped his body and hit the big bird with his feet, sticking with the use of chakra. There was no time, the akatsuki would definitely know he was there by now. Luckily the underside of the bird was one big shadow for Shikamaru to use however he wanted.

Deidara was standing atop the bird quite calmly when the shadows reached around the edge of the bird and captured his own. He couldn't move at all. A number of shadowy hands crept up his legs and around his body, arms, and neck. From the underside of the bird a young man appeared and walked up to Deidara, drawing a kunai. Deidara laughed, which caught Shikamaru off guard. "What? You honestly thought I didn't see that girl fall through the roof? You had perfect timing but my eyes are as accurate as the Sharingan, I don't miss a single detail about anything. You leaf ninja are always running to your deaths, it's amusing how little you think of your opponents."

Shikamaru could feel through his shadow that the thing he was attacking was made of clay. He sighed. "For the record, I wanted to go get help." Shikamaru dropped his shadow and leapt off the bird as fast as he could. He regretted it. Shikamaru was already way too high up to land gracefully, and now he was underneath a massive explosive. Just as he predicted, the bird exploded once he was under it, and the shockwaves sent him flying at the ground way to fast for any kind of landing, the impact would kill him.

Temari knew something was wrong the instant she landed after shooting Shikamaru up. She saw the explosion and saw Shikamaru plummeting. She jumped into the air and unleashed a cyclone straight up at Shikamaru, cushioning his fall. As soon as she did though she was attacked by a large white bird that seemed to appear out of nowhere. She jumped away from it.

Shikamaru felt the wind pushing upwards against his body and he spun around to see the ground. He saw Temari dodging the bird. Shikamaru landed on his feet, still harder then he would have liked but he could walk off the strain in his legs. Almost immediately he was aware of two large white birds that were bearing down on him. Temari was running towards him to help, but she wouldn't reach him in time. He braced for the explosions.

From a rooftop a good ways off Deidara watched his creations approaching the leaf ninja. They were close enough, he ordered them to explode. With his scope he could see that for some reason only the one approaching Temari did but that it was too far away to really injure her.

Shikamaru was also surprised that there weren't any explosions. He opened his eyes and saw someone else. Shikamaru saw a guy that was younger then him, with dark hair and who was wearing black and white clothing. This guy was holding the two birds in his bare hands, and they had seemingly died without detonating. The guy dropped them and turned around and looked at Shikamaru with a wide and crazy eye. Now Shikamaru remembered who he was.

Shikamaru had been put in charge of organizing housing for the reinforcements until the attack came, as well as commanding them once the battle began. He had only expected allies from Suna, people he thought he could trust. But then he received a message from Kumo, written by the Raikage himself. "Sending three ninja to aid. After battle, report their performance and obedience back to me." When they showed up Shikamaru thought the other two were normal enough but this guy worried him. It made him even more cautious when the other Kumo ninja told him that this guy tried to kill Naruto in the Chunin exams over the death of his friend. And now this was the guy who came to their aid.

Shikamaru shook his head and looked around. "You, Kouumaru I think, what are you doing here?"

Kouumaru dropped the birds and turned to fully face Shikamaru. Shikamaru could feel some anger emanating from the cloud ninja. Kouumaru exhaled sharply. "You ordered me to go back to the shelters. I don't take orders from leaf ninja. The Raikage ordered us to protect as many people of this village as possible. The way I see it, killing him will save a lot of people."

Shikamaru heard the emphasis this guy put on the word "killing". Temari was now standing with them, but she was more interested in the birds that didn't blow up. Shikamaru was also interested in that. "How did you stop the bombs?"

Kouumaru looked at the bomb he had been holding. "I guess they can be affected by my Yuukiton just like a person."

Temari looked confused. Shikamaru noticed this and answered her question while looking around for the Akatsuki. "This guy, Kouumaru, can electrocute you just by touching you, it's a special electrocution that can paralyze you temporarily. He's very dangerous, and it looks like these bombs don't stand up to it. Listen up Kouumaru, with your help we have much better chance of winning this fight, can you follow my instructions?"

Kouumaru laughed. "I thought I went over this, I don't follow orders from leaf ninja."

Now it was Shikamaru's turn to laugh. "You see that's the thing, I happen to know that the Raikage ordered you to follow my direction, because I'm the guy who is supposed to report back to him on how well you do. So if you want to remain a Genin forever go ahead and keep being insolent, cuz I'll tell the Raikage all of it."

Temari watched Kouumaru shake furiously, but in the end he relented. She also spotted something coming their way. "Heads up guys." Temari raised her fan and prepared to swing, but Shikamaru stopped her. Instead he looked at Kouumaru and nodded.

Kouumaru pulled two kunai out of his equipment, but he pulled them out by the blades. They cut into his hands and were coated with his blood. Once they had a sufficient coating he threw them at the incoming birds, which quickly fell down deactivated.

Deidara saw what had happened and reached his conclusion. "So that kid is a Yuukiton. The very reason I wasn't assigned to get the Nibi. Alright then, I'll just detonate my bombs before he can touch them."

Shikamaru readied himself mentally. "Alright listen up, that Akatsuki guy just saw your ability, so you wn't be able to disable his bombs by touching them anymore. He'll blow you up before you have the chance. Instead, we will need to move in a tight formation. Temari, up front, if you see any bombs trap them in a vortex. Kouumaru knock them out with your bloody kunai. We move like that until we get close enough to him for me to get him with my shadow, once I've got him immobilized, you two finish him off. Is everyone ready." They both agreed in their own ways. Shikamaru was trying to sound as confident as possible.

The three of them started moving at high speeds right at Deidara, tracking him from where the birds had come from. Deidara leapt into the air atop one of his large birds, making it slightly smaller for easier maneuvering. He sent out a wave of four high speed attack birds. As they approached the trio Temari waved her fan and the birds were held up in the ensuing air wave. Kouumaru hurled his kunai quickly, knocking out the birds. After that the three of them started moving again.

Deidara was actually impressed. They were together rather well for three ninja from completely different villages. These smaller bombs wouldn't have any effect on them, but at the same time he considered it a waste to use something like C4 on them. Deidara had to make a choice, either run, or overkill. He didn't have to think very hard. "Even if I do need something like that, I still don't need too much of it." He reached into his pouch and brought out a very small wad of clay. He brought it to his mouth and ate it. _'Since Yuukiton have an electric pulse in their bodies my bombs can't enter him, but he can be killed with normal explosives. There's another problem with the girl, if she suspects my C4 explosives, that fan of hers can blow them away from them. I can use their order tactic against them.'_ He spit out a large bird, disguising it as one of his regular bombs but making it hollow and filled with micro bombs. With his hands he created similar birds but they were normal bombs.

Shikamaru could see three more birds coming at them. But something was wrong, when he saw the akatsuki making them he could swear he saw one of them being vomited up, rather then being formed from the hands. Their intel said he made them from his hands, what did this change mean, if anything? Shikamaru couldn't shake his worry, something was very wrong. He examined every detail: Why launch another attack like this when the first failed completely? Why change the means by which the bombs were made?

The birds were closing in so Temari swung her fan and caught them in her jutsu. Kouumaru stepped up and threw his kunai, but they never hit the targets. The birds blew up before they could.

Shikamaru watched closely. First the two birds on the side blew up. Then the one in the middle went. But the one in the middle didn't explode very large, there wasn't even a separate noise to it, but he could only barely tell because of the noise from the other two. The other two were real bombs, but the middle one wasn't. It contained something, but couldn't blow up without losing what it held, it just needed to pop. _'Am I just being paranoid? No! Something is going on and I don't like it. There was an attack in that middle bird. An attack we can't see, something we can't sense at all. The other birds were just a distraction, I'm sure of it. Then what kind of attack is it? We can't see it, we can't feel it, a gas?' _"Temari create another whirlwind now!"

She looked at Shikamaru and saw that he was completely terrified by something. His fear infected her and she created another whirlwind in front of them, blowing anything she couldn't see out of the way. When she was done she turned back to Shikamaru. "What is it? What do you see? Shikamaru?"

Deidara smiled. _'Sorry kid, just a little too late.' _He brought his hand up to focus.

Shikamaru was keeping a close eye on Deidara, and when he saw the focus sign he panicked. They were too late, the attack had succeeded. There was only one thing to do.

"Katsu!"

Shikamaru pushed Temari into Kouumaru, it was so shocking that she couldn't really resist. As soon as her body collided with Kouumaru's everything went numb and she blacked out. Kouumaru dropped her and turned to Shikamaru. "What the hell are you doing you…What the?!"

Shikamaru stumbled forward as his legs began to disintegrate underneath him. Before they were completely gone he managed to fling himself at Kouumaru and grab on, before blacking out himself.

Kouumaru began looking everywhere, trying to figure out where the attack had come from. Then he concentrated on the bodies by him. Full contact like that would have given them a full jolt throughout their bodies. From the electricity alone they were probably in very bad shape. _'Well, it won't look good on a report if I just leave them to die like this.'_ Kouumaru put one hand on each of their chests. Their hearts were beating erratically, so he had to readjust the electric impulse there first. With that stabilized he placed his hand on their heads. Luckily there was no brain damage, but they had been reduced to a very basic coma, easily reversed by triggering the right synapses.

Temari snapped awake and tried to get up, but her whole body was still numb. She could see Kouumaru over her though. "What happened?"

Kouumaru let loose a small, unenthusiastic laugh. "Hell if I know. Your boyfriend pushed you into me which made me shock you, and then his legs fall off and he leaps at me and hugs me. Hey, wake up leaf ninja, what the hell is going on mister genius?"

Shikamaru breathed in and felt a horrible pain in his chest. _'Of course, we breathed it in, it would affect lungs.' _"Listen up you two…" He was coughing up blood to say this. "That attack, we inhaled some bombs, we couldn't even see them, but they were there, hidden in his attack. You were safe because of your electricity, but Temari…" Temari's movement was returning to her limbs, and she could see what had happened to Shikamaru. He continued. "I can't keep fighting. It's up to you two. Here, take these. Temari, I'm sure you can think of something. ACK!" He coughed again, bringing up more blood and dropping the trench knives. His numbness was also wearing off so he was starting to feel the pain from the loss of his legs. "Watch for fake bombs. Now go."

Temari leaned over him and used torn fragments of his clothing as tunicates for his legs. She then wiped away the blood on his face. "Shikamaru…I'm so sorry…Thank you…I'll come back for you…" She stood up and turned to Kouumaru.

Kouumaru saw in her eyes something he was okay with. She had a burning desire to kill the enemy now. That was something he could work with. The two of them took off right at Deidara.

Deidara stood still on his bird. _'Well, that guy figured it out and saved the girl. He must have been the brains of this operation. Even if they know about the attack they can't stop it forever.' _Deidara puked up another C4 bird, as well as forming several more normal birds. '_The C4 can kill the girl, but I'll need to get rid of the kid first or else she can purge her system.'_ His birds flew out in three groups. One was a C4 group, the other two were just bomb groups.

Temari could see the three groups taking off in different directions, clearly an attempt to flank them. _'Move fast, get close to him, then he can't use any of his attacks. I need to slow him down.'_ She let her fan open to it's full and bit her finger. She spread the trail of blood along it and called out "Summoning: quick beheading dance!" Her summon the Kamatari appeared and began it's spinning attack, heading right for Deidara.

Deidara dodged the spinning weasel just barely and was forced leap away from his slow moving bird on it's second pass. He created another bird in midair and immediately had to abandon it as well, though as soon as the weasel approached he also detonated the bird, badly injuring and dismissing the weasel. He landed on another new bird and checked the progress of his enemies. They were closing on him rapidly. He sent the commands to his birds to attack. The first squad flew in.

To Deidara's surprise Temari didn't attempt to stop the birds with her fan, instead Kouumaru immediately threw his kunai. Deidara detonated the birds prematurely just to keep them guessing, even though that squad had attacked from the side. The two of them were gaining on him, so he sent in the second squad, but these three birds flew in perfect single file, making kunai worthless for hitting the birds in back. Temari was forced to stop and use her whirlwind to knock the birds out of formation so that Kouumaru could get a shot in. As soon as she did that he also ordered in the C4 squad, which were attacking from behind them.

Temari spun to look at the new birds and she threw something towards Deidara. It didn't matter, the C4 bird was to close for her to just blow it away. Deidara was about to detonate and Spread the C4 into her lungs, as well as lead the two real birds around her to kill the Yuukiton kid, when suddenly he went flying off of his bird. The bird had abruptly stopped in midair, and Deidara's momentum threw him. He laded on the roof underneath the bird and looked around for what could have caused it. He didn't have much time though before the bird which was no longer flapping it's wings fell straight down and landed with a loud crash into the ground.

Deidara suddenly realized that he hadn't detonated the bombs from earlier. At the same time the girl and the Yuukiton kid came into view leaping over the bird he had been riding. Deidara reached his hands into his pockets but Temari was already ready. She threw something at him. He didn't feel a need to react, the kunai was misaimed, and it would only land near his feet. Then he couldn't move. Temari didn't throw a kunai at his feet, she threw a trench knife and it had pierced his shadow. It was the same kind of trench knife she had thrown into the shadow of the bird which caused it to abruptly stop.

Kouumaru landed at Deidara's side making sure to avoid the shadow where the trench knife was located. Temari looked at Deidara one last time before closing her eyes and saying to Kouumaru. "Kill him."

Kouumaru smiled. He grabbed Deidara's head on both sides and ran a massive current through his brain. He walked over and removed the trench knife from he ground, allowing Deidara's lifeless body to fall dead to the ground. When Kouumaru turned around Temari was already leaping back to Shikamaru.

When she arrived she propped him up and started checking his vitals, they were fading fast. "Don't die Shikamaru! You better not die you hear me?!"

Kouumaru was watching. "Move." Temari looked back up at him. "Get out of my way, this guy needs to tell the Raikage that I did a good job." Temari let go of Shikamaru and punched Kouumaru in the chest. Her arm fell down by her side numb. Kouumaru shrugged it off and knelt down by Shikamaru. He put a hand on his chest. "His heart beat is very weak." Kouumaru reopened the wound in his hand and squeezed it to draw out blood. He then ripped open Shikamaru's shirt and formed hand signs before smearing the blood on Shikamaru's chest. "Yuukiton: heart regulation Jutsu. That will keep his heart beating so long as his muscles have the strength to do it. That won't be very long if he keeps losing blood though, and I can't carry him back."

Temari took the hint and grabbed Shikamaru and flung him over her shoulder. As she took off toward the shelters where she could find the medical nin to help Shikamaru, she glanced at Kouumaru who was following her. "Is that favorable report all you care about?" Kouumaru didn't answer. "What is your deal, I thought you wanted to kill Naruto."

Kouumaru let out one sharp exhale. "No, I forgot about that. In fact, I forgot a lot of things after the Chunin exams. They said a lot of brain got fried when I overused my kekkei genkai, leaving me with a number of holes in my memory. I remember that I hated someone named Naruto, and that I hated the leaf village, but I couldn't remember why. Why? Do you know why I hate him?"

Temari denied any knowledge. Clearly if his own village didn't want him knowing, she had no place telling him. Shikamaru coughed on her shoulder. She had to move.

* * *

A/N: Very long fight. Hey every one, wanna here some news? Hinata's in the next chapter! 


	62. Power

A/N: Sorry this update took a little longer then usual. I was working the first day of my job yesterday. Yep, I'm employed! Which means less time to write. Don't expect an update by tomorrow, as I'm working and doing some stuff for college, which I start next week, so even less time to write. Also, I choose a name for that unnamed akatsuki that keeps taunting us with her anonymity. I shall call her, Mebana, which according to my translator means "Female flower", which is fairly descriptive if you ask me. I mean, that name pretty much describes everything we know about her.

Reviews:

Ryuu: Don't know Deidara's abilities? Go read Naruto chapters 357-363 to see Deidara's true power, I downed him a bit to make it easier on those three.

Adngo: no promises.

Zeek: Peg legs wouldn't make you much of a ninja, and he doesn't have a demon to regenerate his limbs. Besides if he got a wheelchair he could use his shadow to push the wheels instead of his arms. As for confessions, what makes you think she has anything to confess?

Rasengan: Please try again, and try to include some grammar.

Dragon: yeah that is a good idea, ISN'T IT??

* * *

Chapter 62: Power

All the jonin that had pursued the trio were down. Madara was standing over the last one, a woman in unorthodox clothing for a ninja. She had discovered the hard way that Genjutsu had no affect on him. Madara knelt down and brought his kunai to the throat of the woman. It was dangerous to keep using the feign death jutsu, eventually Pein and Mebana would catch on. But Madara had no quarrel with these people, they weren't hindering the plan. They didn't deserve death. There was no way to stop the other two from killing people, but he wouldn't be a monster.

As Madara stood up from the false corpse he noticed Pein was looking off in the distance shocked. "Pein? What is it?"

Pein turned to Madara. "Zetsu is dead. Wait…What the hell is going on? Kisame has also died. And Deidara. And Orochimaru has removed his ring."

Madara was approaching the rain nin. "And Itachi?"

Pein concentrated. "He's alive, but there is no response."

Madara looked back into the village. "You mean to tell me they all failed? They were all beaten?" Pein nodded. _'Impossible. I can understand one or two, Itachi and Orochimaru. But Kisame? Deidara? Zetsu? How could these people have died?' _Madara leapt up to a nearby tree. They had made it all the way to the border around the village. He looked into the village with his sharingan eye and saw it, plain as day. A massive source of chakra coming at them at high speeds. _'I see, she has sacrificed herself to the beast, I did not think she would do such a thing. Worst of all she is a Hyuga, the beast is finally home.'_ It would take the jinchiuuriki a few minutes to reach them, precious time with which to plan. The only option was to stay and face the girl when she arrived.

Madara's attention was drawn to the four new opponents that had arrived, led by Might Guy. Pein also saw them, and was ready to engage when Madara leapt down from the tree. "Well? What is the situation?"

Madara cracked his neck. "We fight them, and then the jinchiuuriki will be here."

* * *

Shino landed next to Kakashi, Kiba and Naruto, having just watched Hinata leap away. He had come to find out what was taking Kiba so long, and now he had an idea. "What happened?"

Naruto turned. "Hinata, she… I'm sorry Shino we don't have time to explain we need to go after her. Can you take care of Kiba and…Ah…":

Kiba was next to the large dog that had been his companion since childhood. "Akamaru…He's gone…He's…"

Kakashi put a hand on Kiba's shoulder. "He was a loyal ninken and died protecting you from harm. You should honor that sacrifice, by continuing to live. You need medical attention for your leg, I've bandaged it but you lost a lot of blood. Shino. Can you take him back to the shelter where the medical team is located?"

Shino looked over Kiba's body. "Yes of course. Where are you going?"

As Shino lifted Kiba's body off the ground Kakashi and Naruto looked where Hinata had taken off. Naruto clenched his fist. "We have to save her."

Shino didn't quite understand, but clearly there was something very wrong with Hinata. Even his bugs had been wary of her presence. "Alright then."

Kiba gave one last goodbye to Akamaru before the two groups took off.

As Kakashi and Naruto leapt off after Hinata Kakashi talked with Naruto. "I don't understand why she didn't kill us before, Isn't the Kyuubi in control of her at this stage?"

Naruto shook his head. "He told me, he doesn't actually take control, he just makes our anger so powerful we can't ignore it."

Kakashi thought about that. "But you attacked Sakura and Jiraiya when under it's influence."

Naruto though about it for a second before answering. "Well Ero-sennin always bothered me because hes so perverted. And Sakura, Maybe because she always liked Sasuke more then me."

"So, even the smallest amount of anger will turn into a lethal will. This could be dangerous, do you know of anyone in the village she might have some anger towards?"

"Maybe some of her family members, but Hinata's not a very angry person. She's gonna focus on taking down the Akatsuki. After that though, who knows what she'll do."

They reached the building that had been earlier ripped apart by the idol, but was now simply a ruin with the idol's mysterious departure. Naruto also noticed something else. "Sakura!" He dropped form the roof tops into what seemed like an arena built of ruined buildings. Sakura was laying there next to the body of Kisame. Naruto and Kakashi examined her. Her hands were shredded, her arm bruised, and most of her back had been ripped apart.

Kakashi checked her vitals. "Just barely alive." He looked back up at Naruto. "I don't want you doing this on your own Naruto, but I know you are the one that needs to confront her. Go, I'll take care of Sakura."

Naruto flinched, but he relented. Without another word he took off, still following after Hinata.

Kakashi looked down at Sakura, there wouldn't be time to move her without treatment, and there wasn't enough time to go get help. Kakashi brought his hands together and dug through his mind for a solution. The answers came to him from a memory of his Genin team. He pulled up his headband and dug up the memories of Rin, his team's medical ninja. His sharingan reacted. Kakashi formed his hand signs. His hands began to glow green. He dug harder through his memories, looking at every instance where he had watched medical jutsu with his sharingan. They weren't numerous, but enough at least for a basic treatment. Kakashi placed his hands on her back, working carefully and slowly, focusing his mind on those memories.

* * *

The four members of team guy examined the surrounding area. At least eight jonin were dead, their bodies scattered. Neji had seen the fight raging with his Byakugan, and something had bothered him. Three of the jonin were still alive, their vitals were fine, they were just unconscious, but to the naked eye they appeared dead. Furthermore it was only the one of the akatsuki that was leaving them alive, the man with the strange orange mask. Neji examined this man in more detail, and saw his sharingan.

His teammates could see his anxiety. Tenten gave a sideways glance to her friend and asked "What is it Neji?"

Neji quickly observed the other two for any surprises. The woman appeared completely normal. The man with the piercings had his entire body covered in seals that were brimming with stored chakra, ready to be released at any time. He recognized the look of the seals, the same type that had been used to lock the cave when they were trying to rescue Gaara. "No one touch the man with the piercings, I think he may be the one who can create clones of us like the ones we faced in the land of wind. And the man with the mask…"

Quite suddenly the four of them had company; the man in the mask was standing right in front of Neji, looking him in the eye. "No more telling secrets to your friends." Neji flew back from being punched in the face, it was such a quick attack he couldn't raise a chakra defense. As he went Madara was already following close, leaving the other members of team Guy to gasp.

Pein stepped forward. "So Madara has chosen his target, the rest of you are ours." Pein rushed at them. Lee and Guy readied their defenses but Tenten stepped forward, hurling several weapons at the enemy.

Tenten quickly followed after the akatsuki and continued her barrage of weapons. "You heard what Neji said, we can't touch him. You deal with her!"

Lee wanted to follow her but Guy stopped him. "She's right, that is her opponent, this is mine."

Lee prepared to fight when he focused on what Guy said. "Yours?"

Guy ran forward past his student. "Clearly that man is much faster then Neji, but then again, so are you!!" Guy let his fist fly right for the woman's face and she dodged to the side. He kept attacking her despite her speed.

* * *

Neji had landed on his feet and attempted to counterattack his foe, but once again the Akatsuki's speed was to great for him to match. Not even the Byakugan could track such fast movements. Neji searched but couldn't find him. Just in time he realized what was about to happen and spun around, catching the Akatsuki's hand right before it hit him in the back. As he held the opponents arm he stared into his single sharingan eye. "How do you know about the blind spot?"

Madara laughed a little. "I know more about your eyes then you could imagine."

Neji strained himself and struck out at Madara with his Eight Trigrams: Sixty Four Palms. Madara calmly and swiftly avoided each strike, making the entire barrage futile. Neji was amazed by the speed that he was faced with. As the last few attacks missed their targets Madara punched Neji in the gut and kicked him across the face. Neji stumbled and righted himself. Madara stood still for a moment, before advancing with the same great speed. Neji spun himself. "Hakkesho Kaiten!" As his spin tapered off he searched for Madara, but he was nowhere to be seen. Neji heard the ground beneath him shift and quickly back flipped away from the incoming uppercut.

Madara landed over the hole in the ground. "Ahhhh, you're getting better at tracking my movements."

Neji was panting. "No, it's just I've been defeated like that before, and I couldn't let it happen again. I'm not fast enough to fight someone like you, but maybe he is."

Madara tilted his head. Lee appeared in front of him as if out of nowhere. There were no weights on his legs. Lee kicked Madara in the chin, launching him into the air. As Madara flew through the air Lee leapt behind him and bound him with his arm wraps. "Primary Lotus!!" They spun and slammed into the ground, Lee leaping away at the last moment. He and Neji looked at the crater left behind by the impact, then they both expressed their shock.

Madara was standing up and walking out of the crater as if nothing had happened. "Wow, primary lotus. That thing hurts. I gotta hand it to you, that was some fast moving." Madara disappeared and Neji spun around so Lee followed and saw that Madara was now standing right behind them. "But I think I'm faster."

Neji and Lee took their battle stances again, though before they moved Neji had something to say. "Why didn't you kill your earlier opponents like your allies?"

Madara waved his arms and brought a finger to his mask where his mouth would be. "Shhhhhhhhhh… Do you want them to go kill your allies?" He sighed. "Listen, I don't need to kill these people, they're in over their heads, fighting a battle they don't even understand. You two are the same. I won't kill you two either but I can't reveal that to the others. They need to believe that I'm a ruthless monster."

Lee clenched his fist. "As far as I am concerned you are a ruthless monster!! Only a monster would try to kill both Gaara and Naruto!!!

Madara laughed. "Maybe you're right, but do you have any idea what lived inside those two? Those were the real monsters. A demon of the sand that roamed the desert praying on travelers and devouring all water to increase the size of it's domain. And the Kyuubi? Never in all of history will you find anything to compare with that demon. Enough of this, I don't need to explain myself to you. I'm giving you two a choice. Run away or I knock you out and fake your deaths."

Neji tensed. "What about Tenten and Guy?"

Madara turned around. "I'm amazed they aren't dead yet. You've got a good team set up here."

Lee shifted his footing, ready to charge. "So you would just let them be killed?"

Madara shrugged. "Can't be helped. Those two are as ruthless as they come." He ducked to avoid Lee's attack, and had to quickly dodge Neji's as well. Not even the two of them working together could lay a finger on him.

Neji was now using the One Hundred Twenty Eight palms and he was still being dodged. _'How can he track both of us at once, even with the sharingan?'_ The two of them barely avoided Madara's lightning quick counterattack, moving instinctively when they saw him vanish. As they landed Neji used his Byakugan to check on the others. Guy was doing well enough but Tenten was quickly loosing ground against her opponent. "I think you should show your true ability Lee. I will go help Tenten."

Lee smiled. "You wouldn't just be leaving me with him because you know he won't kill me when I lose would you?" Neji didn't answer, he just left.

Madara watched him go. "Pour guy, he's going to go get himself killed."

Lee changed his stance. "Don't worry about him, focus on me. The second gate, open."

Neji rushed to Tenten's aid. She was about to take a hit. "Eight Trigrams: Empty Palm!" The shot of chakra burst forward and collided with Pein just before he could hit Tenten. Pein spun as he flew through the air and landed on his feet. "Tenten, are you alright?"

She nodded. "Thanks, Neji, you saved me…Neji, what is it?"

Neji was very suddenly and acutely aware of something very bad. A massive source of chakra had just arrived. He couldn't identify it, but it was very close to Guy.

* * *

Guy and the woman were suddenly interrupted by the appearance of someone else. Guy recognized her as Hinata, Neji's cousin. "What are you doing?"

Without responding Hinata raised her arm and pointed it at the woman. The akatsuki braced herself, but could not see the attack coming. Without warning she was hurled backwards through three trees before coming to stop at one particularly strong trunk. She stopped, but whatever attacked her hadn't, continuing through the tree and her torso. A large bloody chunk of her flesh burst out the back of the tree as Hinata lowered her arm.

Guy watched, rooted still by surprise. And then Hinata was gone.

* * *

Neji also saw what had happened, and she was now close enough that he could see beneath the chakra to Hinata. When she left Guy she began moving right at them. Before he could say anything she was there. He was shocked at first. Looking at her with his natural eyes made the chakra she had surrounding her invisible, but his Byakugan reveled plainly that there was a tangible force surrounding and permeating her. He had seen this chakra once before. This was the chakra Naruto had used against him when they fought. But somehow here it was cleaner, less restrained and thousands of times more potent. "Hinata?"

Tenten never saw any attack, but something happened. Neji went flying backwards through a nearby tree and landing behind it. She turned and leapt to Neji's aid. There was a large gash in his chest. Despite being fresh it already looked to be infected with something, and Neji was writhing in pain from whatever was afflicting him.

Pein was also surprised. _'This is the girl that we suspected as the new Jinchiuuriki. Judging by what is happening we were correct, so this is who killed Zetsu, and Mebana.'_ Pein tensed to ready for a charge, but he was halted by Madara.

Madara had incapacitated Lee as soon as he saw the chakra gates begin to open. He used his feigning death jutsu. And quickly noticed that the girl was here. Now he was standing in front of Pein and holding him back. "Run away Pein." He was met with confusion. "Run away or die. This woman can easily kill you. Run." Pein never had the chance. Madara saw the claw coming and tried to move Pein out of the way, but it bent at the last moment. Pein was crushed and burnt by the claw. Madara was now the only one left, and he was standing up to the very demon all of this had been for. He examined her with his sharingan. _'The chakra shell has already advanced to seven tails. And the eight is already budding. If she hits eight there will be no stopping her. It would already be insane to assault her from the outside. Inside it is.'_

Madara stared into those odd eyes. And he entered her mind.

* * *

A/N: You think I made her a little too powerful? 


	63. Eyes

A/N: Ok I'm delving full speed into the faniverse I've made up in this chapter. Any more resemblance to the actual Naruto Lore is purely coincidental, but would be really awesome.

Reviews:

Sirius: It will be in their child until Naruto dies. But then again, who knows who long that will be? (I'm so mean)

Useful: I think I said this before, but the power of love has nothing to do with the final victory because this is not a sailor moon fanfic. Also they don't win by screaming "NARUTO!!!" "HINATA!!!!" back and forth because this is not an Inuyasha fanfic. As for Naruto vs. Kyuubi…maybe, maybe not. (Really, I'm mean.)

Prominence-mental-Zeek: My opinion about those tails is that they are sort of exponential. I mean one tail 13 year old using curse seal level 2, 4 tails sannin pwnsmaking, and both Itachi and Kisame were afraid of Jiraiya, a sannin. So in just three more tails the power jumped pretty high, and Hinata was operating with three more then that, that's like, uber omega sannin times ten pwnsmaking. Plus, more then that her attacks were freaking invisible, how the hell were they going to dodge? Madara's got his sharingan though so he was able to move, so just wait and see how he does against her.

Blackhaze-Rasengan: That's what I'm saying, well maybe not what you're saying Rasengan but thanks for the support anyway.

* * *

Chapter 63: Eyes

Madara was standing in a large room, reminiscent of a dungeon. _'Dank, dark, light that comes from an unknown source. This girl must have been depressed or otherwise apprehensive for a great deal of her life.' _He walked out of the featureless room and into a hallway. _'That room was her subconscious, where the Kyuubi would have been stored were it in her body, but it's not. Hmmmm, Then I was right about her pregnancy, I just have to figure out where in her mind the connection is made between her and her child.' _He looked to the right. As the tunnel led down it got darker and darker, and the tunnel shrank. _'Old memories, isolation, disappointment, fear.'_ He turned o the right. The number of electric cords and the overall level of light increased along that path. _'Connections with others, hope, fulfillment. Her more recent mental state. Her child.'_

Madara walked along the tunnel. The room he reached was the brightest he had seen, and the wires were quite numerous. There was another pathway leading out of this room, so he followed it. He could already see that this was the path to the Kyuubi. When he entered this final room the beast was fully visible to him. A pure white fox with nine tails, sitting down on all fours and at least 12 feet tall. Each of it's nine tails were imbedded in the walls, entwined with the wiring that was part of them. Hinata was also there, floating inside the body of the Kyuubi, unconscious. "So, you have come here. What do you hope to do?"

Madara looked around and counted. There were only eight tails embedded in the walls, one was somewhere he couldn't see. "Well, from within a persons mind it isn't too difficult to suppress your power."

The Kyuubi laughed. "But you are not within the mind of my host. This woman has willfully allowed my presence, you cannot force me out at all."

Madara knew this was true. He thought for a long second about what his next move should be. His apprehension was making the Kyuubi's smile widen. "Well I guess I don't have much of a plan then. Of course I could just kill her from in here."

The Kyuubi continued to laugh. "You think I would allow such a thing? Fool. If anything I could kill you right now."

Madara had no plan, no alternative. He thought that the only thing left to do was stall for time. "True, this woman is manifesting such a massive amount of chakra, it should have torn even her to shreds, shouldn't it?"

The Kyuubi tilted it's head. "I have Hyuga to thank for that. This clan has trained all their lives to be able to push massive amounts of chakra out from every pore in their bodies."

Madara laughed. "Of course. That fool, even his attempts to scorn have only served you. So I imagine you finally choose a set of eyes that will serve you well?"

Kyuubi shook it's head. "Not quite. These are the eyes that see everywhere, and I have used them well. I have also seen the other eyes, eyes that see everything, in combat. But I wish to see how the eyes match up against each other. I suppose it is a good thing you are here." The Kyuubi's tails began to with draw from the walls until only two were left. "There, I have left this woman's body with only enough chakra to match your own, with some extra to close the gap of skill. I will finally know, who has gained more power from my gift, the Uchiha, or the Hyuga."

Madara watched the Kyuubi as it began to laugh lightly to itself. Then he left that place and returned to the real world. True to his word, the Kyuubi had cut down the amount of chakra that Hinata was receiving. Madara could see her chakra shell reshape itself to only two tails. After that the chakra shell thinned and her claws disappeared.

* * *

The battle at the shelters was finally beginning to calm down. Tsunade was panting, almost drained of chakra from the fight with Orochimaru and the subsequent healing of many of the more debilitating wounds. Still, she finally felt like she could take a break. Then Sasuke arrived holding Itachi over his shoulders. Sasuke placed Itachi on the ground in front of the Hokage and the just stood there. Tsunade was shocked at first but calmed down. "So, you killed him?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I put him in a coma, and I don't want him removed from it. I'm going to want a hospital room dedicated to keeping him alive for as long as is possible." Tsunade was slightly disturbed by this harsh punishment, but she didn't have time for that. Kakashi also appeared suddenly, carrying Sakura over his shoulder. Sasuke glared at Kakashi. "What happened?"

Kakashi laid her gently on the ground. "I was able to seal off her worst wound by emulating medical ninjutsu with my sharingan. I wasn't very good at it though, she still needs some help. You should be proud Tsunade, she defeated Hoshigaki Kisame all on her own. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go after Naruto."

Tsunade was checking Sakura's wounds when she heard him say that. "What?"

Kakashi didn't face her. "Naruto's alive. Somehow the Kyuubi was able to move into Hinata's body and so Naruto wasn't affected when they tried to remove the demon from him. Sasuke, how much chakra do you have left?"

Sasuke had been looking at Sakura. "Not much, it took nearly everything I had to use Tsukuyomi against him."

Kakashi nodded. "Good enough for me, come on." Kakashi leapt away and Sasuke followed, there was something more to Kakashi's story he had not heard yet.

Tsunade was left behind with Sakura. Kakashi had done a good job, but there was still some touch up work to do.

Else were near the shelters Temari arrived with Shikamaru, having lost track Kouumaru as they passed some fighting below. She handed him off to the medical ninja she found and then returned to the fight herself.

* * *

Hinata suddenly snapped awake. She didn't have any idea what was going on. The last thing she remembered was standing in that strange place and ripping that small piece of paper in half. And then she was here, standing just outside Konoha staring at one dead akatsuki and one living akatsuki standing on a tree branch. Seeing him was strange to her. She was enraged just from looking at that odd mask of his. She couldn't explain it, she wanted to rip him to pieces, to stab his internal organs with her chakra and watch him die slowly and painfully. She heard a voice in her head. _**'He was the one that was going to kill Naruto.'**_She didn't need any more justification.

Hinata rushed forward at Madara and leapt at him. He dodged and swung around to another branch on the tree, putting the trunk between them. Once she was out of his line of sight he formed hand seals. "Katon: Fireball Jutsu!!" Instead of a large fireball he shot out a small condensed sphere that blasted through the trunk of the tree. Hinata was nowhere to be seen. Madara concentrated on his surroundings. The leaves rustled. Madara leapt away. He shot another fireball into the leaves while moving. And he landed on the ground. Hinata avoided the second fireball and moved forward approaching him.

When They landed Hinata formed her chakra into blades at her fingertips. She had so much chakra flowing through her that the blades she made were larger then ever before, surrounding her entire hand. The enemy was fast though, dodging around her strikes.

Madara was trying desperately to think of some thing he could do to turn the tide. _'Anything that could just incapacitate her she can avoid. Anything could kill her will also kill the demon. Completely out of the question, and yet I have no choice. She might live after all.'_ He dodged an attack and formed the hand signs. "Ameterasu."

* * *

Guy had arrived but was more worried about Neji then the battle between Hinata and the akatsuki. Neji himself was unable to deal with the pain in his body. The wound in his chest was burning like white hot fire that would neither fade nor consume him. He was paralyzed by it, and Tenten was trying her best to help him. Guy could see that the wound was the problem. In a surprise move he formed hand signs. Tenten couldn't believe it at first. Guy slammed his hand into the ground and a large cloud obscured things for a minute. When it cleared there were several turtles present.

The oldest turtle stepped forward and addressed Guy. Guy knelt down and spoke with the wizened creature. "I need your wisdom old friend, can you tell me what is afflicting Neji?"

The turtle tilted it's head and moved around Guy and looked at Neji intently. "Guy you know full well what this is. You also know that there is nothing I can do."

Guy gripped his fist. He then bent over and picked Neji up. "Tenten, who did this to Neji? Was it Hinata?"

Tenten was confused. "I don't know, she appeared and then he went flying back, but she couldn't possibly have hurt him like this. Could she?"

Guy walked with Neji over to the turtles. There were five that had not spoken, one large turtle surrounded by four smaller turtles. They all nodded, and the large turtle leapt up. The smaller turtles fell into place beneath each of his legs, catching him on their backs. The smaller turtles pulled their limbs into their shells and began to spin incredibly fast, lifting the larger turtle up off the ground so that they were flying. Guy placed Neji on the back of the large turtle. "Tenten, follow them back and get rid of any sound ninja you see, but make sure you get him to Tsunade, she's the only one who could treat a wound like this."

Tenten shook her head. "I don't get it. It's just a slash to the chest, he's been hurt worse before."

Guy didn't turn to face her. "Neji's body is being poisoned by an incredibly evil chakra. He will not be able to survive unless all the poisonous chakra can be extracted at once, and that requires an incredibly skillful medical ninja. Tsunade, or maybe Sakura. It's his only hope. Meanwhile, I must destroy this evil that has taken Hinata's body." At that moment a large explosion could be heard. Guy tracked the noise and took off right for it.

Tenten wanted to object but the turtles were on the move, flying at high speeds back into Konoha. She had to follow.

* * *

'

* * *

Madara watched as the flames suddenly changed shape and burst upward and sideways. Amaterasu had met with something that could block it and force it away. _'Impossible! No amount of chakra formed into any thickness shell could block that jutsu, it destroys everything!'_ As the flames cleared Madara could see Hinata holding the same hand sign as him, her eyes focused in the same way his was. Finally he understood the black lines which changed the appearance of her byakugan. "So, your eyes too have reunited with your demonic heritage. What do you call it?"

Hinata was completely shocked at what she had just been capable of. She had just used Itachi's jutsu. Interrupting her train of thought, the demon's voice told her the name of her eyes. "Kuroi Byakugan."

Madara was reassessing the situation. _'She only sued it in reaction to my usage of the Mangekyo Sharingan. The demon hadn't told her. So using these eyes will merely prompt her to use them more as well. Judging from her expression at the end of using it, she didn't know about the ability till just then. If so, then she has a low enough chakra output to be operating consciously, and I may be able to reason with her.' _"You know, I was the one who spared Naruto's life after we realized he didn't have the demon." He saw her freeze up. "I don't have anything against him or you for that matter. I just wish to get rid of that demon forever."

Hinata's rage was beginning to cool down, until the demon fox reminded her of something. "But if he would have had the demon you would have killed him?" She didn't wait for a response she just charged forward and started to fight with him again.

Guy was witnessing the fight, hidden from view, despite how pointless it was against the byakugan. From her appearance and mannerisms both now and from earlier she was definitely possessed by the demon. Guy gripped the branch he was standing on. He searched his entire being for the will to kill her, to kill the demon that had been such a plague to the village all those years ago. They had allowed Naruto to live because he had control of it. But after Neji, there was no doubt that Hinata had no more control. If only the fourth or third Hokages were still here, one of them could reseal the beast and allow them to spare her life. Guy stood. He had no choice.

A charge from any angle would never work against the Byakugan, unless you were moving at such a rate that there could be no defense. Guy focused himself, and he opened the chakra gates one by one. He stopped at six, as that would be enough to make his charge fast enough as well as give him the strength he needed to kill her in one blow. He took off.

Hinata saw Guy's advance just as it began, but she also saw something else on the edge of her field of vision. Guy was approaching so fast, but he was heading for her, not the akatsuki. She tried to move so that she could stop the attack, but Madara actually held her, grabbing her arm. She couldn't move, deflect or counterattack in time. The blurry image on the edge of her field of vision disappeared.

Guy was but an instant away from killing Hinata when something appeared in his way. It hit him in the face and sent him flying. The something spun and Madara also went flying away, having taken a hit to the face. The something landed on it's feet. Guy and Madara both looked at it.

Naruto eyes were wide, his breathing heavy. He clenched his fist. "NONE OF YOU ARE GOING TO HURT HER!!!" Naruto darted his eyes back and forth between the two opponents who were rising to their feet. Neither of them were making a move, but he'd know it if they tried.

Guy closed his chakra gates to avoid being to debilitated, but he was still incredibly sore and tired. "Naruto!! You don't understand the Kyuubi is within her!!"

Naruto looked right at Guy. "And when it was in me did you try to kill me?!"

Guy shook his head and his fist. "This is different!! She can't control it!! She just about killed Neji!!"

Naruto showed his shock, as did Hinata. She brought her hands to her face. "No…I…I didn't…" The voice in her head redirected her attention to Madara. But Naruto grabbed her, causing her anger to subside again.

Naruto held her hand tightly. "She can't help it!! Neither could I, not even when I almost killed Sakura!!!" Guy was caught by that one, he hadn't even been aware of anything like that happening.

Madara was rubbing his cheek, commenting to himself about how Naruto had come out of nowhere and listening to the conversation. "Naruto, you can't help her. The truth is the Kyuubi's seal is completely gone. It can push as much chakra as it wants into her until she's nothing but a raging beast and we wouldn't be able to even slow her down. I went inside her mind and saw myself. The seal is gone. There are none left who can perform the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to reseal the creature. My seal is the only thing that can save her."

Naruto turned to face him now. "Save her? It will kill her when you rip the demon out!!"

Madara shook his head. "Not her, just her child, the true Jinchiuuriki."

Naruto was a little stunned. "So, it's true?" Hinata nodded.

Madara was walking forward slowly. "Think about it Naruto. It hasn't even been born yet. All you have to do is sacrifice it and we will be rid of the Kyuubi forever. You and Hinata can go back to the village and have as many kids as you want, a million for all I care. But I cannot allow that one child to continue to exist as long as it carries that demon!"

Naruto and Hinata both looked at the ground, searching for the right path in the dirt. Hinata couldn't stand it anymore, she had been brought to tears. "Naru…"

Naruto shot up. "SCREW YOU!!!! That's my kid and I'm going to protect it!!!" He brought Hinata even closer to him in order to make his message even clearer.

Madara clenched his fist. "Do you even understand what that beast wants? What it desires? I can tell you right now that you were never attracted to Hinata of you own volition, it was the demon. _It_ sought the Byakugan out! Do you know why?! Because it created the Byakugan!! Those eyes, just as this eye!! It all comes from that demon!!" For the first time Naruto could see Madara's Sharingan. But he was far to busy trying to understand what Madara was telling him. "Your child is nothing but the continuation of an experiment to produce a vessel that will allow the demon's strength to be unleashed to it's fullest! Byakugan!! Sharingan!! These are both nothing more then its pieces in a sick game of evolution!"

Naruto didn't understand it completely. "What are you saying?"

Madara brought a hand to his face, partially covering his eye. "I refuse to be his pawn!! I will end his game by sealing him away forever!" Madara began to move forward.

'_**The sharingan, able to learn all jutsu because the eyes are connected directly to the long term and analytical memory areas of the brain, allowing them to memorize and see everything easily. The Byakugan, able to see almost everywhere around the user with a combination of motion and heat sensitive sensors which increase the size and distort the appearance of the pupil, allowing them to easily react to attack's from every angle. And this Juken style trains the user's body to release masses of chakra with minimal interference, even my chakra can flow easily without resistance like I always experienced with Naruto. I have seen both of their merits and limitations. That will be enough, neither are ready yet. Time to end this.'**_

Hinata suddenly twitched in Naruto's grip. Before he could react his arm and side which were close to her felt like they were on fire. He was forced by reflex to release his hold on her body and he fell on the ground beside her. For a moment he could see the chakra around her turn red, but then it faded back to invisibility. Madara could see clearly, eight chakra tails.

'_**I no longer need you, akatsuki. If you no longer wish to be part of my game, I will simply destroy you. Hinata, this is the man that tried to kill Naruto, and now wishes to destroy your child.'**_

Hinata rushed forward and at unbelievable speed. Before she even got close to Madara he was dodging away from some unseen force. When she reached pointblank range he leapt to avoid her attacks and he put his hands together. "Shadow Clones Jutsu." 10 Shadow clones appeared and fell down at Hinata. She destroyed them all easily and then leapt over the kunai that were thrown at her from seemingly everywhere at once.

Naruto watched while holding his hurt side. _'Wow, their both moving as fast as Sasuke. Maybe even faster.'_ The pain in Naruto's side jarred him away from his thoughts. And then Naruto saw his field of vision fading. He fought to stay conscious, but it fell away from him, even though his mind was still active.

A new scene appeared around Naruto, it was something he had never seen before, but he knew all about it.

* * *

A/N: What is going on? What will happen? Don't you want to know? Well I'll update asap but I've got work again tomorrow so It might not come until Saturday. 


	64. Seal

A/N: For those of you who read the manga, I bet your as excited as I am about finally discovering the identity of…well, I don't want to spoil it for those of you who don't read the manga. But some very interesting facts have been revealed. Anyway this chapter is in some ways the climax to the story I've got planned out. So far. I've been thinking and I could extend it out some, but I really want to take a shot with writing a fanfiction based on something else. I'll see how things go and come to a decision.

Reviews:

Thorine: I don't like Status quos, I like it when things get shaken up and changed forever. That's why I watch anime, most of the time that happens to some extent. Anyway about Naruto's tails and wounding the hell out of Jiraiya, I'm almost positive that Naruto was at four tails when he nearly killed Jiraiya. None of that really matters in my fic though cuz I weakened the seal so he goes up way higher then that. Holy hell I just realized you wrote five reviews in a row. Thanks. Anyway I do plan to write a book or two later on in life once I've got some college under my belt.

Firestorm: Yeah, that would be cool.

Hwon: 1: He kicked the guy in the head, special or not, HE KICKED HIM IN THE HEAD!!! 2: Who says Naruto's not special anymore…

Zeek: Byakugan is better then Sharingan.

BlackHaze: Well don't leave us hanging man TELL US!!

Dragon: Maybe…Though destroying him would be tough…

Useful: How many times do I have to say it?! Granted, love can make some fine motivation, but you are not going to beat down a nine tailed demon with limitless chakra by feeling emotions at it.

* * *

Chapter 64: Seal

Even with his phenomenal speed Madara could not get away from Hinata, and was barely avoiding her numerous strikes. His single eye was only just able to keep up with her movements. A retreat was his only option, but she wouldn't allow it, every attempt to run was cut off by her sweeping chakra claws or by the black flames of Amaterasu, which Hinata was using frequently at this point. Her first use of this technique warned Madara not to look at her eyes, she would surely use Tsukuyomi on him as well, and pumped full of chakra as she was she would be able to kill him even with the illusion.

He moved away one more time but a surprise attack from a chakra claw came. He spun away but it grazed his arm. Madara landed and pulled out a kunai. He brought the blade up to the place on his arm that had been hit and carve a large portion of his own flesh away, to stop the spread of the chakra poisoning. His arm was left completely useless afterward, but he could still move with his legs. Still, Madara was moving slower now, and he knew that his defeat was only a short time away.

* * *

Naruto's vision faded into black. When his vision returned, he was sitting atop Gamabunta. It was night, and they were in the middle of the forest. He looked around. "Hey Chief Toad!!! What's going on?!!"

"Don't worry about him Gamabunta, just get me close to the fox." Naruto turned around and realized he wasn't the only person on the enormous frog. The other person was fairly tall, with blue eyes and blonde hair just like Naruto's. In the man's arms there was a small baby, also with head covered in blonde hair. The baby was awake and crying. The man looked down at the baby and started to rock. "Don't worry Naruto, this will all be done soon, and you're going to be a hero."

Naruto was completely confused. "Ummmmmm, What's going on? And who are you?" A loud crash brought Naruto's attention to something else. He now saw the enormous nine tailed fox standing in front of the toad. "The…Kyuubi…"

The man put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "That's right, the Kyuubi no Yoko. I'm about to seal it away inside of your body." Naruto looked up at him, completely baffled at this point. The man helped Naruto stand up. "What? Don't recognize me yet? I'm the Fourth Hokage."

Naruto's mind stressed itself to figure out what was going on. He couldn't think of anything. "Huh?"

The fourth simply laughed a little. "You got hit by the Kyuubi didn't you?"

At last something that made sense to him. "Yeah!! I got zapped and then I showed up here!!"

The fourth nodded. "You felt the influence of the Kyuubi return to your body, and so you subconsciously sought him out. When you couldn't find him, your mind dwelled on memories of him instead. This is one of the Kyuubi's memories. You absorbed some of them from sharing a body with him for so long. So, your mind came to this memory because it found the Kyuubi here."

Naruto scratched his head. "So…I'm in my head right now?" The fourth nodded. "How do I get out of here?" The fourth shrugged. "Wait a second how do you even know all this stuff?"

The fourth tilted his head up and thought about it. "I guess, the Kyuubi always remembered me as the sort of person who would be able to figure this kind of stuff out. So, in his memories, I can."

Naruto was still frustrated. "I can't be in here!!! I need to go help Hinata now!!!"

The fourth suddenly became grimmer. "And what makes you think you could help her as you are?" Naruto stopped, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth. "That's what I thought. Now stay a minute. Gamabunta!!"

The toad chief leapt forward suddenly, while the fourth placed the baby Naruto into a sling and began forming hand signs. Gamabunta landed right in front the enormous fox. He wrapped his tongue around the demon's neck and reeled him in closer. At that moment, the fourth completed his jutsu, a technique Naruto had never seen before. "Dead Demon Consuming Seal!" It didn't seem to do anything except leave a large hole in the front of the Fourth's shirt. At that moment the Fourth leapt from Gamabunta onto the demon.

Naruto followed and landed right behind the fourth, who was bent over the demon. Naruto could see the entire beast convulsing and writhing in pain. "What is going on?"

The Fourth looked exhausted suddenly. "You can't see it, right now, but just wait a moment. Then it will all be clear." The fox suddenly collapsed as The Fourth stood upright. The Fourth then grabbed the baby Naruto and held it in front of him. Suddenly Naruto could see. A large robed man floating behind the Fourth, a strange hand reaching out of the fourth's chest, and in that hand was a red silhouette of a fox. The hand suddenly moved forward and reached into the body of the baby, pushing the silhouette with it. "Seal!" When the hand withdrew there was a mark on the baby's belly, one that Naruto knew all to well.

The Fourth collapsed as the robed man disappeared and the demon around them began to disintegrate. Naruto ran to the fourth's side and propped him up. "What…what did you do?"

Te fourth smiled weakly. "The jutsu…requires a massive…payment…he takes your life…but still…you can only move a soul so far…place in a body of such strength or will…I could not place it in myself to kill it…so I placed it with you…now…you have seen it…get out of here." Naruto watched the fourth die.

In that same instant he was back inside his mind, a place he was very familiar with. This was the room that the Kyuubi had been stored in, now nothing more then a massive but empty cage. I only reminded him of the danger Hinata was in. He turned to leave. He knew the way out from here.

* * *

Madara barely avoided one more attack, and was completely ready to get away from her next, but there was a pause. Madara was already staring at her. Hinata appeared to be frozen, and her arm was slowly jerking towards her kunai pouch. Madara wasn't going to deny the gift. He ran away from her as fast as he could.

Hinata's hand finally reached her kunai pouch. It slowly reached in and pulled out a specific kunai that had a formula wrapped around the handle. She dropped it in the tree. The Kyuubi had only barely managed to convince her to do this after he said that if Naruto teleported to her aid he would only be hurt. It took massive concentration just to stop attacking Madara for the time it took to get rid of the kunai. Now that it was gone, she located her prey with her byakugan and took off after him at full speed.

* * *

Guy's body was finally beginning to recover. He flexed himself to make sure before standing completely up. When he did he also noticed Naruto standing up. "Naruto?!"

Naruto turned around. "Hey Guy sensei. Go find anyone who survived the fight and get them to help you take down that guy with the mask. I'll take care of Hinata. Don't worry about it."

Guy didn't like the way Naruto was acting. He was far too calm to be Naruto.

Naruto took off; following the swath of destruction his wife had carved into the forest. Eventually he found the kunai he had given her so that he would always be able to come to her aid. It had been dropped into the branch of a tree. He picked it up and placed it in his pouch. The path of ruin had also stopped at this point, so Naruto didn't know which way to go to keep following her. He did what he does best. "Multi shadow clone Jutsu." A hundred Narutos appeared and took off in every direction working in groups of two. It didn't take long for one of them to pick up a sign of her movement. That clone's partner dispersed, and all the other clones disappeared as well. The clone that was on the right path stuck to it, and the real Naruto was close behind him after adjusting his path.

* * *

Madara was able to get quite far away from Hinata in the moments he had when she was distracted, but he could not go far enough to get out of range of her eyes. With just a glance backwards he could see her chakra aura gaining on him. While he was still running from her he had bandaged his wounded arm and taken a soldier pill to revitalize himself. "Shadow clone jutsu." He and his four clones took off in five different directions. _'At least the Byakugan cannot tell which shadow clone is the real thing. I may survive this yet.'_

Hinata quickly arrived at the point where the clones had dispersed. She could not use shadow clones herself, but she didn't need to. Hinata lowered her body until she was standing on all fours. Five of her chakra tails began to twitch and straighten, pointing in the direction of each of the five Madaras. Once the tails had their bearings, they launched, flowing like enormous spikes through trees and branches and anything else that got in their way.

Madara heard his death approaching him. Each clone stopped on it's next branch and dispersed, leaving only the true Madara behind. He turned and faced her. In the last seconds he saw the spike of white chakra rushing right for his heart. The spike was adjusting it's aim to his breathing, so he knew he couldn't dodge it no matter how fast he moved. "Fine then. You win, Kyuubi no yoko." The spike approached.

It stopped. Madara opened his eye to see tat the spike had come to a stop just centimeters from his heart. His whole body was paralyzed in fear.

* * *

Hinata had been so focused on destroying Madara she didn't even see Naruto's approach. He landed right in front of her on the wide branch and got her attention. The next action completely surprised her. Naruto grabbed her shoulders and lifted her up until she was standing. Her chakra shell gained a red tinge to it as it burned away at Naruto's hands and mixed with his blood. Once she was standing up Naruto examined her face. Her black marked eyes. Her fangs. He held her still and pushed his own face forward until he kissed her.

Naruto separated from her and looked back at her. Her face hadn't changed, but she had frozen still. "I just wanted to do that one last time." Naruto concentrated. He started forming the hand signs slowly and methodically, remembering each one by one. "Dead Demon Consuming Seal." The massive man appeared behind Naruto this time. It reached it's hand into the blue silhouette in front of it, and Naruto winced as the hand pushed through his own body. He was already standing right in front of Hinata, so the claw didn't waste any time in pushing into her body.

Naruto could feel three things through his newfound connection. There was one that was small, and for the most part empty. The second was bigger, stronger, and though timid it didn't seem to mind Naruto's intrusion. _'not them…'_ His senses picked up on the third entity. Enormous, angry, powerful. But this third being was also afraid. _'YOU!' _He grabbed onto it and started to pull with all his might. It resisted, but Naruto didn't let up. He pulled, and pulled.

A voice resonated through Naruto. A voice he knew all too well.

* * *

Naruto was now standing somewhere else. It was a dark dungeon like room. Standing in front of him was the Kyuubi. Naruto's arms were stretched out and were gripping the fur of the beast. It glared at him with it's wide black eyes. Naruto smirked. "You changed. But you're still hideous."

The demon reared backwards, dragging Naruto with him. **"Jokes and taunts, fearlessness and determination, these will not grant you victory against me. I have destroyed whole armies. What can one little boy do against me?"**

Naruto tightened his grip and started to edge backwards. If Hinata's mind was laid out anything like his, the only way to get the demon out of here was through that hallway. The demon wasn't budging. "You're coming with me!" Naruto heaved backwards as hard as he could, and sure enough the demon slid slightly.

Still the demon was smiling. **"You are pathetic without me Naruto. The Yondaime took only an instant to remove me from my original form. You struggle, pointlessly."**

Naruto actually laughed. "How many times are people going to doubt me? I am Naruto Uzumaki. I don't lose. I don't give up."

"**Is that so? What about becoming Hokage? The title can't be granted to a corpse. That's all that you are after this Naruto. A body." **The demon succeeded in pulling Naruto back a few more feet before sitting. It's tails shot out and embedded themselves in the walls, acting like anchors. Naruto tried but it wouldn't budge. **"I will be staying right here. You will not move me. You see Naruto, even if you can summon the reaper, you can't control it's power, you don't know how. The Yondaime was the greatest ninja the world has ever seen. I have lived within you long enough to know that you are a fool. A determined fool, but a fool none the less. But even beyond that, there is a simple reason you cannot pull m back into your body. It's the same reason the Yondaime didn't seal me within himself. The answer is that you don't want me back. You don't want a demon in your body, and so no matter how hard you pull, a part of you is pushing back just as hard."**

Naruto hated hearing it. He denied it. Fought it. But it was true. He didn't want the demon back. No more akatsuki after him, no more random villagers beating him and yelling at him, no more losing control and attacking his friends. He had secretly rejoiced when he found out it was gone. Even when he realized it was in Hinata. His doubt became real inside of this place, and he lost his grip on the Kyuubi altogether.

The beast laughed at him. **"You see Naruto? You can't do it. Leave this place. Leave it and die. This is my home now, and you are not welcome."**

Naruto looked up at the monster. The Kyuubi's body was solid, but still somewhat transparent. He suddenly realized that he could see Hinata floating inside of him as if he were made of water. She looked dead. A sudden burst of anger allowed Naruto to grab hold of the Kyuubi again. This time his hands sank into the beast and he grabbed hold of Hinata's body. He ripped her out and held her in his arms.

The beast was a little surprised at first, but let it slide. **"That? You can take it. I no longer need it. I've reduced Hinata to nothing more then a beast. That is nothing more then her sense, her control. It has no more power here."**

Naruto placed her on the ground and turned back to the beast. He grabbed hold of it once more and heaved his body backwards. The demon slid for a second, but it quickly found it's footing and returned to it's default position. "You're not staying here!! You're my problem not Hinata's!!!"

The beast dug it's claws into the ground. **"Will power is not enough, Naruto. Your subconscious still rejects me."**

'_Why! Why can't I do it! Even if I'm gonna die!! I have to pull him out of her!!!'_ Naruto pulled and fought but he just couldn't do it. _'How did he do it?'_ Hinata began to stir nearby. "Hinata. I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm sorry. Just, try to give him a good life. Like mine was after I graduated, but maybe not so dangerous. Now for you, you monster. You're right, I can't take you back to my own body. But I don't need to."

Naruto suddenly shifted track and started to push on the demon. This worked, and the demon's tails lost their grip on the walls. **"What?"** Naruto continued to shove, forcing the massive creatures body to constrict and contort through a thin tunnel before they reached another room. In this new room the demon once again anchored itself with it's tails. This stopped it's progress for a second.

Naruto was breathing hard but he continued to shove. Looking through the Kyuubi's semi-transparent form he could see that at the other side of this room there was no door, but a sort of window. "I won' take you back, and I won't let you stay in Hinata. There's only one more place for you to go. And you are going there now!!"

The beast slid back. **"Into your own child Naruto? I never knew you could be so heartless as to wish that someone go through the same hell that you did."**

Naruto's determination didn't falter, nor did his strength. "That kid isn't going to go through life like I did, Hinata will make sure he gets the treatment he deserves. My kid is going to be a hero!" He shoved as hard as he could and the demon crashed into the window. It's body began to reshape and squeeze into the small portal. Naruto began to shove him into the whole piece by piece, using whatever he could grab as leverage. Eventually Naruto felt a great pain in his hand, he pulled down and found that he had stabbed his hand on one of the Kyuubi's fangs. Still he shoved the beast's face into the window. Naruto held the beasts face within the window, trying to think of what to do next. "Oh yeah, I think he said, Seal!"

Naruto's hands were thrown away from the creature, but in their place a small piece of paper had appeared. On the paper was a single mark, the symbol for the word "Seal". Bars slammed down in the window, completely locking the Kyuubi beyond it.

* * *

In the outside world the claw of the reaper withdrew itself from Hinata and then Naruto, and then the reaper vanished. Naruto collapsed and was quickly followed by Hinata.

* * *

When the chakra spike disappeared Madara started to retrace his steps to discover what had happened. When he finally found Hinata and Naruto he was completely disturbed to see Naruto performing the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, which was visible to his sharingan. When Naruto finished he dropped, and Hinata fell backwards as well, completely exhausted from the process of having the Kyuubi ripped away from her. Madara leapt over to the two and stared down at Hinata. _'Though powerful, this seal is still only temporary. I could take her right now. I know other people that would help me.'_ Madara began to reach down.

"Don't even think about touching her." Madara turned and saw Kakashi and Sasuke, staring at him.

Madara chuckled. "Oh hey there Kakashi. You know you do owe me one for telling you how to defeat my allies. I'll just take the girl and we'll call us even."

Sasuke stepped forward. "No. Our debt to you is paid when we let you live. Now go, and don't touch either of them."

Madara glanced at Naruto. "Now why would I want to touch him? He's dead." Kakashi and Sasuke showed their disbelief. "Pretty amazing too, this kid somehow knew how to use the Yondaime's sealing technique. Used it on the girl to repress the demon's hold on her. As you both know that technique kills the user. So yeah Naruto is dead, sorry. Now then, the girl, we still need to seal the demon away permanently."

Though still shocked by the story that Madara had just told them Kakashi found something to say. "What is your real name? Madara? Tobi?"

Madara was silent for a moment. "What is the answer you want to hear, Kakashi? Names are unimportant anyway." His hands were just about to grab Hinata.

Sasuke leapt at him. Sasuke was still tired from his fight with Itachi, despite having taken a soldier pill to recover. Madara was able to block his attack and pin him against the tree trunk. After that Kakashi leapt in and Madara was forced to jump away to dodge. Both Sasuke and Kakashi were ready to attack again at a moments notice. Madara sighed. "Even if both of you are low on chakra I can't defeat two Sharingans with just my one. Fine. Take the beast back into your village. I can always get her another day." Madara turned his back on them. "Like you said, we're even when you let me live." His two opponents became slightly less tense. "One more thing, Kakashi; It's pronounced To-obi. My partners always just messed it up." Madara vanished

Kakashi squatted down and checked Hinata's vitals, she was alive. He picked her up while Sasuke knelt down over Naruto. Kakashi stared at the two of them. Sasuke checked, just to be sure. Kakashi heard Sasuke let out a laugh. "Naruto, I should have known you'd do things like this." Sasuke knelt down and picked Naruto up. "They have to make you Hokage now, you did what even the fourth couldn't." Kakashi let out a single cough of question. Sasuke heard. "Yes, he's alive."

Kakashi couldn't believe it. "How?"

Sasuke just kept his small smile going. "No idea. Let's ask him when he wakes up."

* * *

A/N: I just didn't have the heart to kill Naruto, even if it is just a fan fiction. Besides, that would completely ruin the final lemon. The final lemon is coming, and boy is it, well, citrusy. 


	65. Aftermath

A/N: I'm in college now!! Which means I have Homework now! And with work added on…I'm still abiding to my schedule, done by September. I mean there's only like three chapters left, and one of those is the lemon.

Reviews:

Hunts: Well I won't be taking it much farther, as stated above this thing is almost done. I enjoy an open ending format because it allow people to continue thinking about the story even after it's conclusion. That's why I like to leave a few loose ends, not completely loose, just not fully closed off.

Zeek: So wrong, but I won't make an enemy of you. COUGHBYAKUGANISBETTERCOUGH (btw who actually gets fooled when you type text like that?). Anyway yeah, the kid will have some fox traits just like Naruto.

Hwon: My mom always said there are no stupid questions. I always told her she was nuts but it's a good message anyways. Lol.

Usefiul: I know you weren't saying it it's just I wanted to make it clear. And thanks for mentioning that I almost forgot to add that in, caught that on the second revision after I answered your reviews. Yet again you live up to your title.

Sareon: It's temp cuz it was in Naruto too. My Madara was referring to how the seal eventually weakens off as the power is used.

Dragon: hehehe, I don't think so, that would be a little drastic. But he will have more then whisker marks I promise you that.

Avatar: If Naruto couldn't eat ramen anymore it would be no better then dying.

Rasengan: Yeah well, I though about that and read your PM, so I decided to rethink that. the final Lemon will be SO Lemony that…That…Dammit I can't think of anyway to say it. And dude Rasengan That PM you gave me was a little weird, I didn't even get it, but don't try to explain it.

* * *

Chapter 65: Aftermath

"Uhnnnnnnn. Huh? HEY WAIT!!! THIS IS THE HOSPITAL!!!!!" Naruto shot up out of bed and looked around. Sakura was the only person there, and she had been asleep until he had shot up.

Sakura held her chest and was breathing heavily to calm herself down. "Jeez Naruto you almost gave me heart attack."

Naruto looked at himself, he didn't appear to be wounded at all. So he put his feet over the side of the bed to face Sakura. "What happened! Hinata! Akatsuki! The Kyuubi!"

Sakura grabbed his shoulder to stop him from running out of the room. "Calm down, I'll tell you. First of all, all the Akatsuki except for that Madara guy are dead or…well they're not going to be much of a threat anymore. Kakashi and Sasuke found you after you went unconscious. We've been waiting for you to wake up so we could confirm what they found out. Did you really use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal?"

Naruto thought for a minute. "I thought I did, but I'm still alive so…So if I messed it up what happened to Hinata?!"

Sakura was thinking things through but she still managed to force Naruto to sit down again. "I'll get to Hinata, first there is some stuff you need to know. You've been out for three days. During that time me and Tsunade-sama did some research. We managed to find some old notes and journals belonging to the third and fourth, and they had some info on the sealing jutsu. We wanted to know what had happened. We're not sure, but our medical test back up what was in those journals." Naruto was writhing with impatience, and Sakura could see it. "I'll just cut to the chase. The jutsu succeeded, the Kyuubi is completely sealed away." He did calm down. "You lived, because there is a way to survive it, though I think you're the only one capable of it. According to what we deciphered, the reaper requires a trade for his services. The first thing he demands is chakra, and it requires a massive amount. The fourth said something along the lines of "twice my maximum after eating a soldier pill." If he can't be satisfied with chakra, he takes your soul. If he can, he takes what he wants and leaves the person…well, this is the bad part. It read, "unable to continue life."

Naruto's scratched his head. "Uhhh, doesn't that mean I should be dead?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, it means that you're sterile." Naruto looked at her for a second, blankly. "You can't have kids." That got Naruto's attention. "Our medical tests back it up, you are incapable of having any more children."

Naruto was still for a second. Then he stood and Sakura didn't try to stop him. "What about Hinata?"

Sakura stood up too. "Yeah, I think you need to talk to her. It's bad."

Naruto grabbed her shoulders. "Something was wrong and you didn't tell me about her first?!"

Sakura didn't have time to respond before Kakashi walked in. "Oh, Naruto you' awake…What's going on in here?"

Naruto let go of Sakura's shoulder and she turned around. "He just woke…"

Naruto ran up to Kakashi and grabbed his sensei's vest. "Where's Hinata?"

Kakashi sighed. "Oh, that's what's going on." He grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled it away from him. Kakashi then turned to Sakura. "Sorry I'm late Sakura, the Hokage wanted to see me so I had to make detour to her office." Sakura wasn't sure if this excuse was real or not, but she could always find out later. Meanwhile Naruto was still glaring at Kakashi. Kakashi turned back to Naruto. "Okay Naruto I'll take you to her room right now, but I have to warn you about what has been going on." Naruto nodded.

Kakashi turned and started to leave the room, his students following close behind. "After we got you back into the city, you were both admitted for examination. You were both given low priority because you didn't have any visible wounds. That changed pretty fast though. Hinata tried to kill herself."

Naruto grabbed Kakashi and slammed him into the wall. "WHAT?!?!?!"

Kakashi was actually a little stunned, that had hurt him, he also took a good look at Naruto. His eyes were their natural blue but his whisker marks had flared as if he were still channeling Kyuubi's chakra. Kakashi didn't try fighting back, he didn't want to hurt Naruto. "She's fine…" Naruto dropped him. "Well…mostly." Naruto was giving him a very dirty look. "We had to restrain her. She's been in bad shape ever since. A few people tried but…We can't relate to what she's going through."

Naruto was shaking with combined fury and disbelief. "Hinata."

* * *

Shikamaru shifted in bed. It was difficult to do with nothing down from the left knee or right thigh. He sighed. _'Troublesome doesn't even begin to cover it.'_

The door opened up and the cloud ninja walked in, Ikazuchi at the front. "We're sorry to ask under these conditions, but we do need our assessment."

Shikamaru hit the button that made his bed go upright. He looked at them all, focusing a little on Kouumaru. "Fine." They waited. "Yeah." The looked at him confused. "Yeah you did fine. Go home and tell the Raikage I want him to make you jonin for all I care." Ikazuchi and Mizore smiled, but Kouumaru gave one short laugh before walking out of the room. Mizore thanked Shikamaru and walked out following her partners. Shikamaru was about to lower the bed again when the door opened again.

Temari walked in, looking very determined and unapproachable, as usual. "Hey, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru sighed. "You don't need to say it again. I get it, really do, you're thankful. You're eternally thankful. You're sorry that you couldn't do anything. I just don't need to hear it anymore. Words aren't going to grow my legs back."

Shikamaru wasn't even looking at Temari so he couldn't see the slight smile on her face. "Yeah I know." That got his attention so he looked at him. "I actually came in here to offer you something else."

Shikamaru didn't really get what she was getting at. "What do you mean?"

She tossed something into his lap. Shikamaru examined it. It was the arm off of a puppet, but a very well made one. "That is one of the puppet arms that Chiyo used. We found several like it in her home. I didn't know about it until today, but Kankuro has been studying their design, trying to produce more prosthetics like them for use with wounded shinobi, or even just for body enhancement, along the lines of what Sasori had managed to do but to a lower extent."

Shikamaru was still holding the arm but he was more focused on Temari. "Legs?"

Temari sat down. "He hasn't had a lot of success. The problem is we don't have enough test subjects. We can't just go around chopping off limbs for experimentation."

Shikamaru reached out with the puppet arm to give it back to her. "What are you saying Temari?"

She grabbed the arm and put it on the bedside table. "Isn't it obvious? We…Kankuro wants to borrow you from Konoha so he can attempt different methods for creating the prosthetics."

There was a pause. Shikamaru finally broke it with a sigh. "Alright." From the corner of his eye he could see that Temari was relieved and even a bit happy. "I mean, it's not like I'll get much done around here without legs."

Temari stood up. "Alright, I'll inform my brother and the Hokage of your decision."

Shikamaru looked up. "And my parents. Could you do that for me?" She was a little caught off guard but she nodded. "Thanks, and when you tell my mom get ready to duck, she might be a little angry."

She smiled. "What about your dad?"

Shikamaru laughed. "If he gets angry I don't think anything will save you." She didn't look very confident but she walked out of the room anyway.

* * *

They were outside of the room but Sakura and Kakashi wouldn't let Naruto in just yet. "Listen to me Naruto, we know seeing you is probably the only way to get her out of there, but…"

"Don't worry, I know what to do." They finally got out of his way and he walked into the room. Inside it seemed darker then the rest of the hospital, despite the shades being opened enough to let some light in. Hinata was in the bed, and the thin rays of light from the window were illuminating her. Her hands were restrained at the sides of the bed, and she had an IV that was keeping her alive after she had refused to eat. Her face was turned away from Naruto so he couldn't see if she was awake or not. He got right over to her and saw that she was asleep. There were marks on her cheeks from dried tears. Naruto bent down and pushed his arms under her body so that he could give her a full and tight hug. "Hinata. Hinata."

Hinata's body suddenly shifted and twitched. Her head turned. This was such a routine view for her she recognized it instantly. "Naruto?" He pulled away from her just enough for her to see his face. "Naruto!" Her arms strained against her bindings as she tried to return his embrace.

Naruto saw this and reached for her right hand's restraint. "Let's get rid of these things." As soon as her right hand was freed she wrapped it around Naruto. The same was true of the left arm. Now they were hugging and Hinata was crying uncontrollably. Naruto kissed her cheek and squeezed her tighter. "Hinata…"

She held him as tight as she could and cried into his shoulder. After a sniffle she said "They said you might not wake up…"

Naruto laughed. "C'mon I'm tougher then that."

She shook her head into his shoulder, whether to say no or just wipe off her face Naruto didn't know. She pulled away from him and looked at him. He didn't like the look in her eyes, but they were at least back to their normal creamy white. She stared at him for a moment. "Kill me."

Naruto couldn't even move. She tried to say it again but he grabbed her shoulders. "NO! WHY…why would you even say that? Don't say that."

Hinata was crying and trying to cover her face with her hands. "I can't…I don't…I killed him I killed him…"

Naruto began gripping her harder and trying to look through her hands to her face. "Those men deserved to die, they were…"

Hinata's face shot up and she almost screamed "NO!" When Naruto was silenced she looked back down into the bed. "Neji…He didn't make it."

Naruto didn't know how to respond.

* * *

Tenten had cried for the first day after it happened. She had screamed in defiance when Tsunade relented that there was nothing she could do. She had tried so hard but accomplished nothing. Now Lee was the one spending his entire day being depressed right next to her. He too had cried when he found out about it. Neither of them had gone to see Hinata. How could they? Right after the attack Guy had tried to kill her. Some of that anger was carried over, drowned out only by their mutual sadness. So the two of them stood at the place where they became Genin, silent and sad.

Lee looked up and squinted into the sunlight. "Neji…" He tensed and tightened a fist. He punched the nearby wall, leaving a pit in it in the shape of his fist. That was the third such mark he had left there.

Tenten was leaning back over the edge, her entire upper body exposed to the sunlight. She was looking up into the sky, focusing nowhere in particular. She had a kunai in her hand, one of the hundreds she had thrown at him over and over again for his training. "Neji…"

She dropped the kunai and it created a sound which drew Lee's attention. Tenten leaned back farther and kicked of with her feet, flying off the building head first. Lee ran over yelling her name. He looked over the edge and saw that she had landed cleanly. "Tenten! What are you doing?"

She looked back up at him. "I'm going home, Lee."

Lee just watched her go.

* * *

Naruto still didn't know how to respond. How could he understand what she was going through? The worst he had ever done while drawing on too much of the Kyuubi's chakra was scratching Sakura's shoulder. Hinata had killed someone, and not just anyone but Neji. Naruto had been worried about her meeting up with family members, but he had been hopeful. Finally Naruto thought of something to say and do. He grabbed Hinata's head and pulled it into his chest. She only resisted slightly. "It wasn't you…It was…"

Hinata interrupted him before he could name the demon. "It was my fault! I let him take control. I let him…" She broke down into tears again, placing her arms on Naruto's back. She cried for a good long while. When she was done she started to push away from Naruto. "And if I die, it dies too."

Naruto wouldn't accept that. "But then he'll die too." Naruto placed his hand on Hinata's gut.

She squirmed. "I want hi…" She realized that Naruto was referring to the child. She grabbed Naruto's hand on her stomach. "You almost died to seal the demon away. To save me."

Naruto turned his hand around to hold hers. "Both of you. Sakura said that I can't have any more kids. You and him are all I've got left. I'm gonna be a dad. And you're gonna be a mom. And people will forgive you. And…and…and it's gonna be…happy…" Naruto pulled her closer and started to cry on her shoulder.

Hinata held him, despite being very awkward about him crying. "But, what about what I did."

Naruto grabbed her all the tighter. "You can't say you're sorry when you're dead." She started crying into his shoulder again.

They stayed like that for a while. Eventually Naruto broke it up by saying "Now lets get out of this place, we spend way to much time in this hospital."

* * *

Kiba had a slight limp, despite healing well. Medical ninjutsu could only do so much though. Akamaru had been buried in back of the family kennel. Kiba watched, supporting himself with a crutch. Now he didn't need it anymore, but his leg still ached. It would be good eventually, but to Kiba being a ninja was in the past. The Inuzuka were one with their ninken. Without them, they were nothing. Without Akamaru, he was nothing.

Kuromaru walked into the room. "Kiba, I wanted to speak with you." Kiba wasn't going to turn away the hound, he was his sister's companion after all. The dog sat down and turned to face Kiba with it's one eye. "Akamaru was dear friend to us all. He will be missed." Kiba winced. "However, your obligation to this village is not over. You are a ninja and you will damn well act like one." Kiba didn't respond, he just tensed up. "That's why we'd like you to care for the young ninken that have not been selected for a specific companion."

Kiba spun. "What?"

Kuromaru barked. "You know about them. Only a few pups are selected from each litter by members of the clan for one on one training as companion dogs. The others are left in the kennel and are raised by other members of the family."

Kiba sat down in front of the large battle hound. "Yeah I know, but that is the most honored position, given only to those who have lived long lives and ninja and have left their companions behind in old age."

Kuromaru growled to silence Kiba. "Since when do you choose who deserves honor? Akamaru was one of the finest ninken ever born in this village; it would only do future generations good to have such a fine teacher as yourself aiding their development. Your sister has demanded it, and I have backed her decision." Kiba was about to open his mouth. "And you don't get a choice, so just go down there and start training dogs once your leg is better." Kuromaru stood and walked out of the room briskly.

Kiba looked out the window towards the kennel.

* * *

Sakura and Kakashi waited outside without intruding. When the door open their eyes shot up. Sakura smiled, while Kakashi's face was concealed behind his mask. Naruto and Hinata came out of the room together, smiling and holding each other. Naruto was the one to speak. "We could both use a real meal."

Sakura nodded. "You got it! Ichiraku's, or wherever you guys wanna eat. Kakashi?"

Kakashi looked at them. "Oh no I have something else I need to do." He walked away from them deeper into the hospital.

Naruto scratched his head. "Where's he going?"

Sakura frowned a little. "I know where, and it's ok I'll tell you about it while we go."

* * *

Chouji was sitting in a restaurant not with Kuchina, but with Ino. She said it was to repay him for saving her neck, which he had done. During the battle he had defended her from several shuriken by rushing to her, grabbing her and using his needle guardian jutsu. Of course it had been uncomfortable then first of all because the needle guardian was not designed to protect more then the user, but most of all because they were squashed together face to face, far to close for things to not be awkward. The memory of that uncomfortable squish was jumping into Chouji's mind between each bite. He couldn't get it out.

Ino was looking at Chouji very seriously. Eventually he noticed and looked up at her. She shook her head. "Don't worry about me Chouji I'm fine. Just keep eating."

Ino telling Chouji to keep eating was the final straw. Something was going on. He put down his utensils, which was very strong message from an Akimichi. As soon as he did a waitress approached asking if anything was wrong. "No, everything's fine it's just hard to speak with a full mouth." The waitress backed away. "Ino, what's going on?"

Ino took a deep breath. "I just feel like I owe you something. I mean you are always there to help out. Like protecting me. Or when you helped me home when I was drunk."

Chouji gulped. "So you remember that night?"

Ino nodded. "Unlike lightweights I don't black out when drunk. I remember every little detail." She watched Chouji start to sweat. "But I don't hold guys responsible for what they do when their hammered." Chouji still didn't calm down. "What? We kissed, big deal. We were drunk, it didn't mean anything."

Chouji took a good breath. "Right, drunk."

Ino laughed a little. "Besides, what would Kuchina think if she knew?" She took a bite of her food, which finally got Chouji to start eating again, much to the restaurant staff's delight.

* * *

Kakashi looked at the body. It looked so peaceful. "So, has your desire for revenge finally been quenched?"

Sasuke glanced over at Kakashi. "Yes. It's over between us."

Kakashi turned to his student. "So what are you going to do now?"

Sasuke smiled. "Rebuild me clan." He started to exit the room.

Kakashi Watched Sasuke exit the room. Shortly after that, he left as well.

* * *

A/N: Next Chapter, the final lemon, after a little bit of drama of course. 


	66. Close

A/N: Here it is, the final lemon. That's what most of this chapter is, and as with all my other lemons you don't have to read it to really get the story, as it goes all the way to the end. Also, the title is a double meaning, close as in to close something, close as in to keep it something close to you. Only oneish more chapter to go. It might be two, I'm not sure, and It might not be up tomorrow so I may fall behind my deadline, but there were some unexpected interruptions, and I've been writing like crazy.

Reviews:

Useful: It's Naruhina, or is it??? Just read it.

Zeek: Yay for responsibility! wait...

Dragon: oops, my bad. thanks for pointing that out but I'm not gonna go back and fix it. people who read that chapter can just replace "sister" with "mom".

Thorine: Maybe

Avatar: Kiba's go until his leg gets better, then he starts training, but Kuromaru doesn't want him getting rusty.

Jot: Just cuz he can't have kids doesn't mean he doesn't want sex.

Rasengan: He's just sterile, everything still functions fine.

Blackhaze: Yeah I like that line too.

Hinata: Maybe.

Hwon: I look into that.

Flex: Thanks, and I do plan to write more, just not Naruto fics, I'm done in this area. I think I'm going to do a bleach fic next.

* * *

Chapter 66: Close

Ichiraku's was still intact, to the delight of Naruto. He waved his one free arm at the owners as he approached, dragging Hinata along with him. He hadn't let go of her arm since they left the hospital room. She understood his concern, she wasn't entirely positive that she wanted to keep on living just yet. But for now, with Naruto holding her and trying so hard to cheer her up she couldn't think about that. Naruto ordered for them all, and as usual the old man was happy to serve them up.

She was right there. Standing in the open, she wouldn't see it coming. Tenten lifted up the kunai and took aim. Her vision blurred and she blinked the tears out of her eyes. Her arm was shaking. She couldn't hit a target like that, but she couldn't calm down. More tears were piling out, and the ones she had blinked away were forming trails down her face. There was no way she would be able to throw the kunai in her current condition. She would have to charge.

Tenten leapt down and landed. No one suspected her, she was a ninja holding a kunai, there was nothing unusual about that image in konoha. Of course they wouldn't let this slide, she would be imprisoned, possibly executed for treason. Or maybe she would be honored as a hero. For the first time in her life Tenten understood the sentiments of her parents, of all the adults that had been around when she was growing up. They all hated Naruto, so she had ignored him. Now she understood that hate, but unlike the previous generation, she was going to do something about it.

She went over it in her head, Hinata didn't have to die, just stab her in the gut. Twist the blade. Maybe do it multiple times, it can't be left behind. They can treat Hinata's wounds, but there would be nothing left of it.

Tenten was done thinking. Her body began to move forward, dashing around people in the street, moving right for the little ramen stand. She was so close.

Naruto dropped Hinata's arm and leapt off of his stool. He had just turned to say something to her. She turned to see what was going on, and saw Naruto restraining a tearful Tenten as best he could. Tenten was slowly edging towards Hinata though, brandishing a blade. Naruto said something that she didn't understand, but Sakura did. Sakura jumped forward and disarmed Tenten. It was difficult to do, she had literally tied the kunai to her hand. Hinata saw Tenten's goal, assassination with no hope of escape.

Tenten was still struggling, yelling something that was muffled to Hinata's ears. Sakura managed to get the kunai away from Tenten and toss it aside. Both Sakura and Naruto were saying something to her, but Hinata couldn't understand them either. The kunai was right at her feet. She bent down and picked it up. Held it in her hand. It was kunai that had been intended to kill her. Naruto saw her holding the item. His grip on Tenten loosened. She slipped past him entirely but Sakura held tightly. Tenten was now at Hinata's feet. Naruto was getting up to move at them.

Hinata dropped the kunai fell to her knees and hugged Tenten. Naruto paused and after he had a moment to figure things out he grabbed Sakura and pulled her away to watch. Tenten's arms fell limp by her side. She sniffled, and Hinata made a similar noise soon afterwards. Tenten closed her eyes. "Neji…didn't deserve to die…You…you killed him…"

Hinata was crying as well now too. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean too…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm sorry… I'm sorry…I'm sorry… I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"

Tenten winced with each apology Hinata let out. She opened her eyes and realized that her kunai was within reach. She could still do it. So fast that no one could stop her. She could do it. _'I'm sorry.' _She could do it. _'I'm sorry.' _She could do it. _'I'm sorry.' _She could do it. _'I'm sorry.' _She could do it. _'I'm sorry.' _She couldn't do it. Tenten's arms wrapped around Hinata as well and she began to cry much harder and more openly then before.

Naruto and Sakura had been on edge the entire time but they finally calmed down when they saw Tenten fall apart like that. Lee arrived after a minute or so. He observed the situation and got an explanation from Sakura. Once he understood what was going on he let Tenten cry it out for a while and then walked over to her. He put a hand on he shoulder. "Tenten, let's go." She slowly stood up while Lee wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Once they were gone Naruto walked over to Hinata and helped her up. Through the tears Naruto could see that she was smiling, and it spread to him too.

* * *

After they finally finished eating Naruto and Hinata went home, leaving Sakura to do the same. There were many Hyuga clan members standing in their way when they strolled into the compound, asking questions and making demands. Naruto blew them all off and shoved through them with Hinata in tow. When they were still followed by some and he reached their home he turned to face them and yelled "GO AWAY!! There is nothing wrong with either of us!!" Once they were both inside he slammed the door shut. "Jerks." He noticed Hinata was looking down again. "I'll deal with them all tomorrow."

Hinata looked at him. As always he seemed to radiate courage and confidence. And as always it spread to her. "We'll do it. It's my family."

Naruto looked at her. She was steadfast in this decision. "Yeah I guess you're right." She moved forward and kissed him.

When she dropped back she hugged him tightly. "Thank you. Naruto-kun."

* * *

Sakura returned home. The lights were on so she could tell that Sasuke was there. She wasn't prepared for what was going on inside. There was a bouquet of flowers she had never seen before on the dining room table. Sakura heard a flush coming from the bathroom. Sasuke appeared and was at first surprised to see her. "Oh, Sakura." He walked past her and grabbed the flowers. "These…are…for you."

Sakura took the flowers into her hands and smiled. She smelled them and turned back to Sasuke. He was standing there looking partially confused and partially worried. "I love them. Sasuke…are you trying to be romantic?"

He thought about it for a second. "Yeah…" He walked forward and placed his hands on her shoulders, leaned in and stopped when Sakura started laughing. "What's wrong?"

Sakura calmed herself down. "I'm sorry. You got these flowers from Ino didn't you?" Sasuke didn't really respond, his eyes just turned away. "I can tell. This was always her fantasy of how her dream guy would ask her out, or just be romantic with her." She saw him suddenly look distraught. "I like it; I just think it's funny that you asked her for advice." She put the bouquet back on the table. "I just wouldn't want the flowers in my arms, that's all." She pulled Sasuke in and kissed him.

* * *

Naruto had practically forced Hinata onto their bed so she could rest. He then looked her over. He crawled onto the bed and laid his head on her stomach. He shifted and lifted her shirt up so her gut was fully exposed, and when he placed his head back down he also started to press gently with his fingers. She didn't get it so she smiled and asked. "What are you doing Naruto?"

Naruto turned to her, placing his other ear to her gut. "I'm trying to find him."

Hinata was a little surprised. "You mean the baby?"

Naruto nodded, and continued to listen to her gut and probe around with his fingers. "I thought, you were supposed to be able to find him or hear them or even feel him kicking."

Hinata smiled and looked at the ceiling. "Not for several months Naruto."

Naruto looked back up at her again. "Really? But when I felt him last time he seemed big enough to hold."

Hinata opened her eyes and sat up a little to look at Naruto. "Felt him?"

Naruto lifted up his head. "When I was doing the seal I could feel all three of you. He was small, but he was there."

Hinata put her hands on her gut. "What…what was it like."

Naruto smiled. "It was small, but it was there. And I'm sure it was a boy. I'm not sure how, but I'm sure. And he's right here. That's why I want to see if I can find him again." He placed his ear back to Hinata's gut and closed his eyes.

Hinata smiled and laid back down, letting Naruto explore her belly. Her eyes shot open again when she felt Naruto kiss her gut. She looked down in time to see him do it again. He looked up at her and smiled. Then he kissed her again, and again. He even kissed into her bellybutton, which tickled Hinata in an odd way. She reached down and cradled Naruto's head as he continued to lavish her abdomen with kisses. He suddenly looked up at her, his eyes a little cloudy, just like hers.

* * *

()LEMON()NARUHINA()LEMON()LEMON()NARUHINA()LEMON()NARUHINA()LEMON()NARUHINA()LEMON()NARUHINA()LEMON()NARUHINA(LEMON()

* * *

Naruto kissed lower on her gut, and then lower again. He curled a finger underneath the waistband of her pants and panties. His eyes shot up as he gently licked the place where her skin stopped and clothing began. Her face wasn't just allowing, it was urging him to go on. With a nimble movement he undid her pants and pulled them and her undergarments down to her knees. He wasted no time placing another kiss right on the place where her waistband had been. Then he went a little lower. Then lower and lower. Then he was at her womanhood and paused. It was a short pause and as soon as it was done he kissed her there as well.

Hinata shuddered and shook. She made fists in the sheets and kicked her pants the rest of the way off with wild motions. She bet her lip, so hard that she could taste blood. Naruto was kissing, and licking, and even gently nibbling at her most sensitive area. She convulsed again, and could not stop her hips lunging upward and pressing her womanhood into Naruto's face even harder. Naruto grabbed her lower back and pulled his face harder still between her legs. She bit her lip until the pain was unbearable and finally relinquished it. As soon as she did she could no control her voice. She gasped in air and let out a moan.

Naruto smiled when he heard her. In doing so his teeth rubbed against her folds and he quickly shot his tongue back onto her sensitive spot. He knew her body so well, it didn't take long after the moan escaped her that she came. Sure enough moments later the room was filled with the sounds of her screaming voice, and Naruto's face was wet with her release. He lifted his face up and gazed at her body. In her elation she had torn her jacket open and pulled her shirt up over her breasts. She had been massaging them to help the pleasure along. He smiled and began to crawl up over her.

Hinata was slowing her breathing down and gazing at the ceiling when Naruto came into view. He brought his face down and kissed her, pressing his tongue into her mouth and twining it with hers. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. He put one hand on the back of her head and pressed her against him. Hinata let him go and placed her hand on the zipper of his jacket. He pulled it down and grabbed the bottom of his shirt. She began to pull it up but Naruto took it out of her hands and sat up to remove the shirt and jacket completely. She gazed at the body of her husband, and saw his clean and unmarked stomach.

Naruto placed his hands on her breasts and rubbed momentarily, after which he slipped his fingers underneath her shirt and lifted it off of her head. Hinata sat up and pulled herself out from underneath him. She sat up on her knees and kissed Naruto again, gripping his hair and pulling him against her. Naruto didn't fight, he grabbed her sides and slid his hands to her back and then her ass, earning a smile from her within the kissing. Then he felt her hand in his pants, pushing into his underwear and grabbing hold of his member. She rubbed her fingers along the length, which was considerable at this point.

He looked at her as she stroked it again and rubbed her thumb against the tip. She pressed him back until he willingly fell down, but she retained her grip on his manhood. She crawled up over his body while continuing to gently and slowly move her fingers up and down his full length. She held it tighter and started to move her hand faster as she began kissing Naruto on the gut, just as he had done to her. Suddenly Naruto shuddered and Hinata felt his release on her hand. She looked up at him. "Sorry, it just felt so good." She shook her head and pulled herself up to his face. Their lust filled eyes met. He pulled her down to kiss her and could feel that he could still go again. "My pants."

Hinata reached her hand down and undid his pants. She pushed down and he kicked until they came off. As soon as they were gone he could feel himself at her entrance. "Naruto…"

"Hinata I love you." He threw her over and jumped on top of her. He pressed his body into hers and situated himself. Then he started the motions. Push in pull out.

The first time they had done it, it was so odd and over far too quickly. Then the night after that they did everything so slowly. Since then they would often just hop into bed, hump and fall asleep. Sometimes, this time, they did everything slowly and methodically. He would press in and pause, then pull out slowly and repeat. On nights like these their lips were almost always together. When their eyes opened they were locked with the others. Hinata lunged her body up against his. And he would return the pressure. Things began to speed up along with the heat rising. Their bodies began to burn so they pressed against each other harder and faster.

Hinata gasped and tilted her head back, and Naruto latched onto her neck and collar bone, kissing, licking, and nibbling. Her gasps and moans were getting louder, so Naruto made his attachment to her flesh more intense as well. He left a red mark on her shoulder just as she screamed the loudest so far. Her body clenched on his. The pressure and heat was amazing. Naruto could only go on for a little longer before he unleashed himself inside her. He collapsed on her.

She didn't mind his weight on top of her. But it was beginning to be uncomfortable. She pushed on him and he accepted the signal. Once he slipped an arm under her neck and pulled her close.

* * *

()LEMON()SASUSAKU()(A/N: That's right, DOUBLE LEMON!!!!)()LEMON()SASUSAKU()LEMON()SASUSAKU()LEMON()SASUSAKU()LEMON()SASUSAKU()

* * *

Just like last time, Sakura was the one who was leading for the most part. But Sasuke was infinitely more receptive of her advances. He was following her leads, and even taking a small initiative. She was rather surprised when he actually slid his hand up her shirt and grabbed her breast. When he saw her surprise he began to pull back, so she grabbed his hand through the material of her clothes and led it back up to her chest. She smiled. "Like this." She matched her fingers to his through the shirt and pressed down, leading his hand in massaging her. He picked up quickly and Sakura was enjoying it, so she wrapped her hand around his neck and pulled back to her face.

They were still in the living room, so Sasuke began to pull her toward the bedroom. She stopped him, and forced him down onto one of the two couches. "Sakura?"

She shook her head while she felt through his clothes to his chest. "Now. I want you now." She bent down and pressed lips to lips and tongue to tongue. When she sat back up she looked down at him and smiled. "Isn't this what you wanted when you got me those flowers?"

Sasuke smiled. "Yes, but it's more then just this. Sakura…Itachi is…"

"Gone…forever. Right?"

He nodded. "Yes. It was my only purpose for so long. But it's over now, I need a new purpose."

Sakura was losing her momentum, Sasuke was being far too serious. "Sasuke…"

Sasuke sat up and grabbed her arms. "Sakura, my new goal in life. I want to have a life and everything that goes with that. A family…You." He pulled her forward and kissed her, using the same tongue motions as she had. "You, Sakura. I want you." Then he did it again.

Sakura pushed him back down again. All of her desire had returned. She grabbed his arm and tore off the gauntlet that he wore. He then saved her the trouble with his other hand and after that moved to his shirt. It was off in moments. Sakura raked fingers down his chest and bent down. She positioned her head in the crook of Sasuke's neck. She kissed and nibbled. Sasuke's hips moved and his crotch rubbed against hers. Though they were still clothed it sent a wave of heat through her body. She took a deep breath and exhaled it. She pulled her shirt off over her head and reached up behind her back.

Sasuke shifted his position a little bit and sat up some. He saw Sakura's bra go limp. He reached a hand up and grabbed hold of the undergarment. Sakura straightened her arms forward and allowed Sasuke to draw it away. He dropped it beside them. He brought his hands up again and began massaging both of her breasts. She reached her arms up into her own hair and moaned as she removed the headband that kept it in place. Once it was gone she reached forward and pulled Sasuke's head to her chest. "Kiss me here…"

He obeyed and kissed her on the breast. She moaned again when he started to suck gently on the nipple, clearly following his instincts. While he passionately cared for her chest she reached a hand down and slipped it into her shorts. She was already wet, and her fingers contact only made the sensations more powerful. She was so involved in her hand that she didn't notice when Sasuke broke from her chest. She quickly found out about it when he rose up and kissed her on the lips, stifling a moan. Her eyes opened when she felt his hand joining hers in her pants. He felt her hand, and felt what it was touching. He took it a step further though and slipped his hand under her panties. Almost immediately Sakura gasped and moaned. Her free hand made a fist in his hair, while her other hand worked along side Sasuke's in rubbing her womanhood.

Her body ached with desire. She matched her hand with Sasuke's and he followed her lead. She led his finger straight to her entrance and pressed in with her own. He hesitated for only a moment before pushing a finger into her body as well. She convulsed and twitched. She pulled her finger out and pressed it back in and Sasuke followed her lead. Her hand was moving quickly and his was right with hers. She couldn't handle it at all when Sasuke simply placed another finger in her body, for a total of three. Her neck shot back and her back arched pressing her chest against Sasuke. He began to attack her neck just like she had hit his earlier.

Sakura shuddered and screamed. She removed her hand from her pants while she gasped for breath. She brought her arms up and draped them around Sasuke's neck. "Um…Amazing…Sasuke. Just…Amazing."

"Sakura." He lifted her leg up over him so that her feet were dangling off the couch. He also sat up behind her, smelling hair. His hands reached around her body, first to hug her so that he could kiss her neck. Then he reached down and grabbed her pants. He started to slide them down.

Sakura stopped him. "I want you to say it." He didn't answer, but she knew he didn't know exactly what she meant. "Do you?"

Sasuke understood. "Sakura, I love you. I need you." She released his arms and he pulled her pants down, and then his own.

It was against her, this thing which was finally and truly hers. With just a slight repositioning it would pierce her body. She leaned back and turned to the side to face Sasuke. "Take me…I'm yours…Sasuke…I love you Sasuke." He didn't hesitate to do as she said. He lifted her with one arm and pointed himself at her entrance with the other. With one shift of the hips he entered her and was met with the warm wet and heavy sensation of her body surrounding his.

Sakura exhaled slowly and hotly as her body reshaped around him. As soon as he felt comfortable she rolled her hips. It slipped and slid and pressed against her walls and she could feel it all. Sasuke had his eyes closed and his mind on auto pilot. His hips thrust and ground into her body of their own volition. His hands were attached to her mounds and rubbed them powerfully. His mouth was latched onto her neck, biting and sucking. His eyes were glued shut as if opening them would somehow ruin the experience.

Sakura was much the same way as Sasuke. Her hips rolled. Her hands roamed from her breasts with his hands to her hair to his hair, feeling whatever they ran over. Her eyes were also shut tightly. But her mouth was not. Her voice was a constant sound in the room, her words displaying passion and pleasure. As they went on her voice became less and less coherent but more and more intense.

Sasuke could feel them both about to go over the edge. He finally let go of her neck and opened his eyes. He brought his face up to her ear. "Sakura…"

The hot air passing by her ear caught her attention more then the words he used, but she understood the statement. She leaned back hard against his body and managed to twist well enough to get by his ear. Her voice suddenly became very hushed. "Me…in me…you…do it…" She ended her statement by biting his ear, a little harder then she meant to but still not dangerously so.

He recoiled from her bite and began to nibble on her ear as a response. As she began to get louder again he began losing control. "Sakura…"

She was ready. "Now! NOW!! AHNNNNNN!!" Sasuke grunted as he unleashed himself completely in her body. Their pants were wild, random. Sasuke pulled Sakura sideways with him so that they were laying on the couch. He reached to the top of the back and pulled down the decorative blanket to cover them. "Sasuke, you kept your promise. I love you."

Sasuke tightened his grip on her. "I know. I…love…you too…Sakura…Thank you…for this…for everything…"

"Anything…always…"

* * *

A/N: My final Naruto lemon is done, and it was a double at that. Hope you all enjoyed, freaking perverts. 


	67. It Ends

A/N: Well Here it is, the final chapter. I got on a roll this morning and was able to finish it before work. It starts with a little set up, and then I jump. Just read it.

Reviews: Since this is the last time I do it, the people who reviewed this chapter will not be responded too. But I'll still be reading them so don't stop writing them. I'm going to keep this section in my future fics cuz I like the way I get into conversations with some of the readers and it encourages you to write to me through the reviews.

Noscoped: Honestly, the reason I included lemons was to try and draw in a wider audience. I figured people that didn't real lemons would read anyway cuz it was a good story, and people who did like lemons would read them then get hooked like you. I'm glad it worked the way I thought it would, and I'm glad you enjoyed the story.

Dragon: I just checked, you have been reviewing my fic since the first chapter. Thanks a whole lot for all the reads and reviews.

Useful: You're the guy that actually changed the course of this story, so thanks for always doing what your names promises, and for being one of my best critics.

Blackhaze: This was initially a naruhina story but I always wanted the sasusaku one to be second in importance. I had to include it in there.

Rasengan: My number one perverted fan. I don't have much else to say to you. Thanks for reading and…being perverted.

* * *

Chapter 77: It Continues

It was just the Hokage's office. Naruto had been in here hundreds of times before. But this time was different, this time was special. The elders looked him over. Koharu turned to Tsunade. "I told you that we wanted to see all the applicants at once."

Tsunade smiled and looked at the elder. "You are. Naruto's was the only name we received. Four times in fact so a few of his friends entered his information for him in case he forgot to."

Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Actually I did forget, that was four of my friends."

Homura straightened his glasses. "And this is the boy you want to make Hokage?"

Tsunade looked over Naruto. "Both of you need to stop being so uptight. Naruto fills every qualification. He has fought for this village. He is an s-rank jonin. He has proven himself time and time again and as I'm sure you know there is no longer any risk of him becoming a danger to the village because of the Kyuubi. Lets hear one thing either of you can say that would make him ineligible."

The elders were stumped for a minute. Koharu sighed. "These documents that state his eligibility or forgeries, they are invalid."

Naruto pulled a paper out of his pocket and placed it on the desk. Homura leaned forward. "Beyond any technical qualifications, there is a problem of character. Naruto has been guilty of a large number of inappropriate activities. I remember an instance when you painted over the faces of the Hokages. Why should we add your face among them when you can't even respect them?"

Naruto got a little tense. "That was years ago. I've become wayyyy more mature."

Koharu scoffed. Homura looked at his paperwork. Tsunade slammed her hands down to get their attention. "You know neither of you really have a choice in the matter. The line of succession for the position of Hokage falls completely under my discretion. This whole meeting and interview is nothing but another ceremony so the elders can feel more important. I could pick him right now and you would just have to sit there and grimace. "

Koharu stood up. "The council has more power then you'd like to admit. There is more then enough history between the both of you to tell that you were picking him purely on preference, rather then any true merit. And you, boy. There is more to being Hokage then being the strongest ninja in the village, which I doubt you are."

Homura motioned to her. "From what I've been hearing about you Naruto, you've spent the last 8 months or so challenging every jonin in the village to sparring matches. I also heard a rumor that you haven't lost yet."

Naruto smiled. "Yeah, though Kakashi-sensei and Guy-sensei were pretty tough."

Tsunade smirked. "Naruto has grown stronger then any ninja in the history of the village, even the fourth. And his teammates are right behind him."

Koharu sat back down. "I know all about people calling them the Sannin. But what about other aspects of his character? He's a hooligan. He can't be trusted not send new Genin off on A rank missions. That was what he requested as a Genin wasn't it?"

"That's what I got too, though it was a mistake of course. Still I made it back. Maybe you shouldn't doubt the ninja this village puts forth. Of course we shouldn't have been given that mission, I know that. I know all about the mission levels and I know who's ready to do what."

"How do we know that?"

"How are you going to find out if you don't give me the job?"

There was a silence for a moment. It was broken earlier for Naruto then the others. He heard a soft ringing in his ears and it continued unabated. "Tsunade-sama, elders. I have to go; there is somewhere more important I have to be. I'll be back when I can but Right now I really have to go."

Koharu frowned. "What happened? I thought this was your dream? What is more important then that?"

Naruto smiled. "My son is being born." They could feel his chakra surge for just a moment before he disappeared completely.

Koharu and Homura simply stared with their jaws slack. Homura readjusted his glasses and turned to Tsunade, who was leaning back and smiling. "Was that…" She just let out a laugh as an answer. "I had no idea."

Koharu finally relaxed herself. "Just dropping everything like that."

Tsunade nodded. "I know, he's going to be such a good father. Not just for his son but for everyone, don't you think?" They didn't answer her. But they agreed with her.

* * *

The nurse tried to take the kunai away from her but she held on relentlessly. When the nurse finally made some progress Hinata grabbed her shirt with her free hand. "Don't touch that knife! AHHHH!" She fell back onto the stretcher and screamed with pain while holding onto the kunai tighter then ever. The nurse did back away but she remained wary of that hand. They reached the maternity room and got everything set up. Out of nowhere a young man in an orange and black jumpsuit appeared. He was next to the bed and right over Hinata. She saw him and her body relaxed. "Naruto…"

He smiled. "Yeah I'm here, you can drop the kunai now." She did so and the nurse was finally able to take it away. Naruto looked around. "Is there anything wrong? Is she supposed to be in this much pain? What have you given her?"

The doctor pushed him aside. "Everything's fine she's doing just fine. We're going to get her all set up so please just stay out of our way. Don't worry, they're both going to be okay."

Naruto nodded and stepped away. He yelled over the commotion "Don't worry Hinata I'm not going anywhere you aren't leaving my sight!"

* * *

Sasuke's eyes were shut, but he still knew exactly where they were. He ducked under the punch and grabbed a leg. "Too obvious. When you want to end things too quickly it usually means you end up defeated faster." He threw the leg and the body it was attached to away. The next attack was a kunai from the right, but the attacker was to the left. Sasuke dodged the kunai and grabbed the arm of the incoming attacker. He twisted it around the back of the attacker. He then swung the attacker around and into the third attacker, knocking them both down. "You had the procedure correct, but your execution and timing was a little off. Those textbooks and exercises are good for basics, but real combat is never basic. If you can think of a flaw in your plan, and even when you can't, chances are your opponent already has. You can't leave any room for error. Your plans must have backups, and your backups must have backups. But you must think of this all instantly between each blow."

"That's impossible." The Genin were getting up. "No one thinks that fast."

Sasuke smiled. "I suppose it's also impossible to move so quickly that none of you could see me too." His Genin nodded. As soon as they did there were three Sasukes each standing behind a Genin with a kunai to their throats. "Wrong. Thinking instantly, moving blindingly fast, these things are simple. What's truly impossible, things like reading an opponent's mind, killing with just a thought, or traveling the vast distances of this world instantaneously, these are the tings that cannot be done. It is your duty as ninja to discover how to do them. You must find something that cannot be done, that you can never accomplish, no matter how hard you try, no matter what you do. And then when you find the way to do it, despite it's impossibility, then people will see that you are powerful. That is what makes a great Shinobi."

Sasuke withdrew the kunai and got rid of his clones. His students backed away. One of them looked up. "Sasuke-sensei, what did you do that was impossible?"

Sasuke thought about it for a moment. "I never did anything that was truly impossible. But I've done a large number of things that are very difficult. No more questions, you know what you have to do."

The one female on the squad grimaced. "You said we have to hit you just once, but you're a jonin, that's imposs…"

Sasuke smiled. "Like I said, you know what to do."

"Sasuke!! Sasuke!!! Are you out here?" For the first time since the test began Sasuke opened his eyes. He saw Sakura approaching, she walked slowly but purposefully. "There you are! Come on we got to go now!!"

Sasuke sighed. "We are in the middle of their first test Sakura, what is it that can't wait?" Sasuke thought about it for a second. "It's too early isn't it?"

Sakura finally got up to him panting. "Yeah for me, but it's Hinata. We have to be there. Sorry guys You'll have to finish this test some other time."

Sasuke shook his head. "We finish the test first, Naruto will understand."

Sakura turned to the Genin. "Does he have you collecting bells?" They shook their heads and one of them told her what was going on. "Ohh, that's an interesting training method Sasuke." She looked up at Sasuke pouting.

Sasuke and Sakura got into an argument about the necessity of being there for the birth of Naruto's son when suddenly Sasuke felt three small fists hit him lightly on the side. His students had taken the opportunity to hit him, effectively ending the training session. Sasuke sighed. "Alright, fine. But I'm going to work you three into the dirt after today." The students ran away. Sasuke turned back to Sakura and shook his head. She was smiling. "You planned that didn't you?"

She started walking off. "You didn't see it coming?"

Sasuke didn't answer her. He caught up to her and placed a hand on her gut. "Why do you keep doing things like this? Moving around so much, you could ask someone else you know."

She pushed his arm away. "I'm pregnant not paralyzed. So my gut is twice it's normal size, I've still got legs. Now come on. I can't wait to see Hinata and Naruto's baby."

* * *

"So now that you understand the proper method for throwing kunai you will begin actually using them in your taijutsu period tomorrow. It will be un-graded at first, but after a week of everyone getting some practice we will begin ranking you all based on accuracy." Iruka felt something impact the back of his neck. He turned around and looked at the floor while feeling his head but there was nothing there. He knew something had happened though because the class was laughing. This was the seventh time he felt it but he couldn't find anything out of place. He smiled and turned back to the chalkboard. "Now then if you'll all pull out your books we'll begin…" He spun around and caught the object before it could hit him again. It was a wide tipped marker with the cap off and a string connecting it to it's owner. Iruka's eyes followed the string right where he knew it would lead.

Sitting in his seat, grinning like crazy and holding the string proudly. Spiky black hair. Incredibly pale eyes. A grayish jacket. And of course, the marks of whiskers on his cheeks and those abnormally sharp canines and fingernails. "Whoops, looks like he caught on before I could finish. I guess Iruka-sensei will have to deal with a one eyed smiley face on his neck."

Iruka grabbed the back of his head. "Damn it Arashi, YOU STAY AFTER CLASS!!! Now if we can have a little order here…" He turned back around but felt something else hit his neck. As soon as it hit he spun but this time the marker fell to the ground. There was no string attached so no one could pull the marker back.

Arashi and the rest of the class laughed hysterically. Iruka's eyes focused on Arashi. Between the fits of laughter he managed to say "Sorry Iruka-sensei, that one wasn't me."

Iruka looked around. "Alright then who threw it? If whoever threw it doesn't stand up and confess by themselves you're all staying after class. I'll count to five." As Iruka counted he looked at the students. Most of them were staring at Arashi, waiting for him to admit it. Arashi was also shaking. This was the only way Iruka could ever get him, Arashi was a prankster, but he was not willing to get others in trouble for his actions. "One!" Arashi was about to stand but he stopped, and Iruka was surprised.

"I did it, Iruka-sensei." She was standing up, pink hair and dark green eyes as her defining characteristics. She wore purple with the symbol of a fan in the headband that kept her hair back. "I thought the image deserved to be completed."

Iruka knew it hadn't been her. But Arashi wouldn't say anything. "Alright, you stay after school too Mikoto. Now then, one more person tries to write something on the back of my neck and all of you get to stay after school and take a test." There was a general groan from the class and a few snickers when Iruka turned around.

* * *

After class Iruka held the both of them back. "Arashi, when are you going to get your act together?"

He looked away and frowned. "I'm bored in here and I can't take it. Like this whole lesson on throwing kunai, I don't need it. I've been throwing kunai for weeks, I never miss. Just use a mirror to see the back of your head and you'll see."

Iruka sighed. "You know that there's more to it then that. Your dad talked to you didn't he?"

Arashi laughed. "He's the one who recommended your neck smiley face."

Iruka sighed. "I guess I should have seen that coming. What about your mother?"

Arashi giggled a little more. "She laughed at what dad said and then told me I shouldn't do such things."

Iruka waved his arm. "And why didn't you listen to her?" Arashi shrugged. Iruka brought his hand to his face and rubbed his eyes. "If you keep this stuff up Arashi I will fail you and you won't become a Genin."

Arashi panicked. "But…But dad said he won't give me any personal training if I can't graduate!!"

Iruka nodded. "That's right. You need to get you're act together. I know you think it's funny but you won't go far as a ninja with all of these pranks blocking your class time."

Arashi leaned back and placed his hands behind his head. "I'm sure you said the same thing to my old man. Oh wait, I mean the Hokage. What do you say to that Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka didn't have much to say about that. It was true that Arashi was his father's son. They were so similar that it scared him sometimes. "That's no excuse, Naruto failed the exam several times."

"You guys just weren't…"

"Arashi, we've had this conversation too many times as it is. You know where I stand and I won't tolerate any more in class pranks. Now both of you can go home."

Arashi stood up and was about to leave. "Hey wait what about Mikoto? Don't you need to lecture her?"

Iruka shook his head. "She didn't do anything wrong, maybe you should talk to her instead of me."

* * *

They were walking together to the intersection that they always walked to. From there they split and each head to their respective homes. But on the way they would talk, they were very good friends after all. "Mikoto, why did you say you did it?"

Mikoto smiled. "I thought that it might reduce your punishment, and besides, I like walking home with someone to talk to. I figured I could just wait in the class with you rather then outside."

He sighed. "Geez your weird."

She got upset. "I thought we were friends? I thought friends helped each other out?"

He shrugged. "Yeah but, guys are supposed to protect the girls, not the other way around." He waited for a few more steps. "Thanks."

She smiled. "No problem." After a little while they closing in on their split point. "Oh I forgot to ask if you need help on the homework."

Arashi shook his head. "Nawww I got it. You aren't the only one at that school who can figure things out."

They were now in the back alley they always went down right before the point where they would part. Arashi noticed something in his peripheral. He looked up. There was an ANBU looking at them. "Aren't you guys supposed to be the stealth force?"

The ANBU leapt down and scratched his head. "Heh heh, Yeah, I'm new to the force and thought I'd try tracking someone. Hey wait a minute, You're the Hokage's kid right? Yeah! No wonder you saw me. And you, you're the Uchiha right? Yeah Mikoto Uchiha…Wow, it's kinda like I'm meeting some celebrities."

Arashi groaned. "Yeah good for you bye."

Mikoto was a little more polite. "It's nice to meet you, uhhhh…"

The ANBU laughed. "Oh I'm sorry, we don't usually share our names, it's why we wear the masks and all. But I guess it's okay to tell some kids. My name's Tobi. Well it was nice meeting you, but I got to go, ninja stuff and all."

Mikoto bid him farewell and turned back to continue walking. She saw that something was wrong with Arashi. "Arashi, what is it?" He was standing there with his eyes wide and focused on the ground, and his breathing was strained. He looked terrified. "Arashi?"

He shook and his breathing settled. "I'm sorry, it's nothing. I really need to go see my dad. Bye Mikoto!!"

She watched him run as if his life were in danger. He ran straight to the Hokage's office leaving her behind.

Tobi also watched from a nearby roof top. He squinted with his one eye and watched Arashi Uzumaki running out of fear, running for his father's protection.

* * *

A/N: Like I said, I enjoy the open ending. Thanks everyone for reading. You've been awesome. Also I've finally made up my mind and I will be doing a bleach fanfiction, entitled Pride and Death. As for this one, if someone is interested in continuing it, just PM me and if I like your style and what you have planned I'll give the fic over to you. Also, here are the final stats of the story at the time this was posted.

Stats:

Chapters: 67

Words: 192402 + about 3400 in this chapter.

Longest Chapter: Chapter 61: Teamwork with 4873 words.

Shortest Chapter: Chapter 37: Prelude with 1553 words.

Hits: 136876

Chapter with most hits (Not Chapter 1): Chapter 4: Embrace with 5238 hits. (Freaking perverts)

Chapter with fewest hits (Not Chapter 66 or 67): Chapter 60: Sannin with 545 hits.

Reviews: 425

Chapter with most reviews: Chapter 45: Morning and Chapter 65: Aftermath with 12 reviews.

Chapter with fewest reviews: Chapter 7: Reunion with 2 reviews.

C2s: 12

Favs: 173

Alerts: 149

And thus, it ends.


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